RezDay and FREEDOM!!

Ok... so, two things happening today. Despite being sick, I have a perma-smile because of this:



After the entire school year dealing with the dreaded ASSessment... ahhhhhhh!!



Also, just happened to notice that today is my RezDay, the birthday of my Second Life avatar, Kaye Delacroix. And, my how she's changed...hehe! Happy RezDay also to Lynette Radio who shares my day.. and Ed Radio whose day was yesterday.

RezDay assessment secondlife

On Getting my Life Back....

AHHHHHHHH...... yes, I see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's shining brightly. After spending most of my vacation week and two 14 hour work at home days, the ASSessment is done! (At least what I could do at home.) I still have some activities to do with the kids at school this week, then I'll gladly pack the binders up and ready them for UPS pickup.

So, now that the HUGE monkey is off my back, I can focus on moving forward. I've been thinking about which direction I want to go in terms of my whole brand and new media presence and have spoken to someone that I trust about revamping my site(s). That is definitely a priority at this point and will get the ball rolling for other changes coming down the pike.

During an evening of chatting with Chris Penn about a variety of things, the convo turned to the social media circles and I mentioned that there were sooo many things cropping up and that living in this world takes up time. He said something very profound which made me sit up and think:

"Just don't get too caught up in it. We spend a lot of time learning the tools of social media without DOING something with them."

So, that's it... not just spending time playing and meeting people, which is fun and nice, but to use them to work towards our goals. Trouble is, when you're not really sure where it is you want to ultimately end up. For me, my initial foray into the online world and community began as a Patriots Super-Fan but there is so much more out there and so much more that I'm interested in.

• Yes, I'm intending on continuing to use new media to move forward with my Patriots passion, but there's always that fine line that I walk between wanting to take it to the next media level and remaining "The Fan".
  
• I'm a Special Educator, and love what I do. Unlike many in the podcasting community, I don't share their aspirations of "quitting the day job". Of course, this may have to do with the fact that the Pats Passion which fuels my podcast is a past-time and hobby, while I love working with my students and if I HAVE to work, there is nothing else I'd rather do. (Of course, if I didn't have to work, I would be home in a minute, but that's not even a realistic thought.)
• I LOVE podcasting and the community itself. However, having a podcast about the Pats requires ample time in the Patriots community as well. Time that I used to spend hanging with Pats people in the forums and chats, is now shared (and at times replaced) with time hanging with the podcast/new media community folks.
  

• I still plan on starting a non-sports related podcast and it's just a matter of getting a chunk of time to get it up and running.
• Of course, I'm learning about the technology as I go along, as I'm a geek world "new blood". (I've been a book nerd my whole life, but fairly new into the tech world, so every day is a learning experience for me.)
  

So, where am I going? What direction am I taking this? What am I going to DO with it? Steve Garfield has some ideas on this subject as well Thing is... I love many things but they're not necessarily related... Yes, they are all tied together through this new media world but there are just so many hours in each day and we've just one life to live. I guess time will tell....

Btw.... just 37 days of school left so I'm REALLY going to get my life back soon!

Technorati: assessment, Chris+Penn, Steve+Garfield, Autism Podcast, patriots, brand

Little Changes...

Coming up on spring vacation from school, I'm determined NOT to spend the entire thing working on the dreaded ASSessment so I've really put the pedal to the metal this week. I'm happy to say that I've actually made some progress :-) So, this is my last night that I head to bed knowing that I have to get up for work for another day. As I sit here typing right this minute, my 15 yr. old is begging me to skip school tomorrow (Day Before April Vacation = National Bunk Day) but to no avail. I'm hearing sounds of "I'm feeling ill.. I may puke tonight, just to let you know!" (God.. I love that kid!) hehehe

Anyway, I ran the blog feed through feedburner tonight, so if you're not subscribed, you can easily do so by clicking the rss icon on the right. I also went back to the white background because it looked better with some icons and pictures on the site. I'm going to attempt a switch to Wordpress hosted on my site next week, with the help of friends.

I've also mentioned to a web designer that I would like to talk to him next week about the "big picture" and getting some guidance so that's on the agenda. In addition, I've got something new and totally cool for the podcast and will unleash it with the next show.

So... I am making a dent in my wish list and making progress.. one little baby step at a time!

Procrastination? Not Me!

Getting to be crunch time now. I'm totally in overdrive with the ASSessment so that's the priority numero uno for sure. I have made some contacts to begin working on my "social media map" and all of the things on the infamous list of things that have been swimming around in this brain.

Just got caught up on all the feeds about PodcampNYC and corresponding Flickr surfing.... lots to look at and think about and definitely lots to keep me from getting busy with my business of ASSessing!

So.. with husband snoring on the couch (after working 36 hours straight) and kids in respective rooms, I'm jumping in like a good little girl.. and will.... resist.... Twitter.... Skype... gmail.... Google Reader... etc.......................

Technorati procrastination assessment podcampnyc flickr

Good Friday Plan

What is that yellow, unidentified foreign object in the sky that I see? Wow... although it's cold at least the rain has stopped and the sun has emerged. I'm off today so I'll get some clothes on the line and start working on my ASSessment once I finish reading what's dropped into Google Reader over night.

I still have lots of things swimming around in this head about where to go with the site, podcasts and blogs but ASSessment and homework are top priorities right now. Of course, it's hard to concentrate on that boring stuff when creative thoughts constantly sidetrack me. I must really try to focus and stick to a time schedule and allow myself 15 minute breaks from work for something fun. :-)

First 15... chatting on Skype and catching up on Twitter, while finishing my coffee, then on to work.

Must Do's for today:

• Enter rough assessment info into computer for at least one student so there is an online copy (God forbid the paper copy that I've been working on gets lost!!)
• Laundry (not a problem since I love to hang out)
• Exercise
• Shop for nephew's birthday gift (yuck... hate to shop)
• Catch up on email, blog posts, Pats news
• Take some time for play :-) (mess around with photoshop or research the WP blog to work on some of my To Do list .. yes, that's fun for me.. god I'm such a geek!)
  
• Club tonight then movies with my husband
  

Time Crunch

While I'm thrilled that it's April and time is flying by, I'm really starting to feel the crunch! My huge ASSessment project deadline is fast approaching and I'm not even close to being done. I've still got tons to do with it and I've got homework to do for my class as well.

I've been making an effort to unplug more which is good for the family and body (by going to bed much earlier) but it does nothing to help my To Do list and the things that I listed here The 25th Hour: Multi-tasking Mayhem. I have done a few things on the list but there are so many that I've yet to work out. I think it may be time to enlist the help of someone who's more experienced than I am for some advice and assistance. (Although that generally goes against the way I usually do things by being self taught.)

No work tomorrow for Good Friday but the weekend will be busy so it won't really be like a bonus day for me in terms of getting things done, more like a regular weekend due to the loss of Sunday.

This weekend is PodcampNYC and I may try to catch some things online if they stream like they did in Toronto but I've really got to NOT allow it to distract me too much if I'm working on homework or Assessment stuff. How I'd love to take part in things like that but it's another story for another day.... sigh...

I changed the color scheme of the blog but not sure if I like it and may go back. What I really want to do is change the whole thing completely to Wordpress hosted on my site but I'm not sure if my host will support it (will be changing hosts anyway) and also just how to do it so it'll have to wait.

Time to head to work soon... a quick check of the email and feeds then I'll be off!

Final day of vacation...

Wow... where did the week go? It totally flew by. Today will be a day of changing gears and getting ready to adjust to the work week. Next week, I have lots of appointments and meetings after school so I'll be jumping right in with both feet.

Today, I've got more ASSessment work to do and I'll likely be "attending" more Podcamp Toronto sessions online as I work. Yesterday, I took in quite a few great sessions right from the comfort of my own home via the streaming video.

I also had the pleasure of enjoying two online podsafe concerts within a week. On Tuesday, I checked out Podsafe Music Live while at the U-Turn Cafe in Second Life with a bunch of other podcasters. It was an AWESOME show featuring Matthew Ebel, David McMillin, Geoff Smith Codaphonic and Kevin Reeves.

Last night, Uncle Seth performed at C'est What in Toronto and I was able to listen via the stream. I could have jumped into SL as well but decided instead to unplug the headphones and play it on the speakers so that I could get some other things done around here and get out of this chair! I spent wayyyy too many hours sitting yesterday and needed to get up and get moving.

So, with my powerwalk already under my belt and my To Do list by my side, I'm getting an early start and look forward to a productive day. I need to hit the market later to get stocked up for lunches and healthy snacks for work. God... I'll be so relieved when this ASSessment is off my back, especially since I'm taking a course and also because I'm looking forward to moving in a new direction with my website and podcast(s).

Technorati Tags:
assessment, codaphonic, david mcmillin, February vacation, geoff smith, kevin reeves, matthew ebel, mrsb, patriotworld, podcast, podsafe music, music live, second life, To Do List, uncle seth

Times They are a Changin...

Change... sometimes it's hard, sometimes easy.

This Week: I welcome the change from going to work to being home this week on February vacation... I've got lots to do this week and some decisions to make. I need to treat it as a "work from home" week though in terms of schedule because I've got to make a huge dent in the ASSessment.

Website: I'm not sure which direction to go in with the website as I've got some options; revamp either with someone's help or alone, let it go the way it is, call it a day, downsize... I'm sure I'll know what's right for me at some point.

Health/Weight: Although I'm not obese, I did catch a talking to from the doctor last week because I had gained some weight since the last time I was there. He wanted to know what was going on with me because I was in such great shape (getting up and going to the gym at 4:45 every day will do that for ya...) back then. He was concerned because even then, my cholesterol was borderline but I had great "good" cholesterol so the ratio was fine, BUT he's worried that the weight gain might have ruined that. So... being one to refuse to go on medication, that is serving to be more of a motivator to drop the extra 15 pounds than seeing my naked body and wanting to puke is...

Podcasting: Finding the time to keep up with my show and also the desire to start a completely new one while at the same time keeping the peace here and fitting it all in.

Decluttering and cleaning house... Letting go of old crap that is bringing me down and moving towards simplifying my life.. I've actually made a huge dent in this since the new year. I've donated so much stuff to someone who can put it to good use, and it's a freeing feeling and makes keeping things straight here much easier. Of course, all these "projects" take time but I've got extra this week so it's a good time to make some good headway.

Clearing my mind: Doing some good things for me emotionally and taking time just for me...

So, that's where I am right now. We may get some snow tonight (hope so!) During my early morning walk it certainly had the snow smell in the air and it was like the calm before the storm; very quiet, still and grey. Plan for the day is to work some more on the ASSessment, keep up with my twittering peeps, and maybe even do some playing online in Second Life for a bit. (Seems like lots of time on here lately has been spent working although that's not how it appears to some...sigh...)

Sunday Check-In

Not sure where the weekend went... seems to have flown by and although I got tons of cleaning done (Kitchen completely spring cleaned!) there still remains tons of things on my list that I never got to this weekend.

I'm sitting here with a cup of tea, hoping to quell the queazy stomach that's been nagging at me all day. I'm hoping that the feeling will go away and that I'm not coming down with something... Tomorrow's schedule is a good one at school with gym (our planning period) and a long free period! So, I'll have lots of time to work on that dreaded ASSessment and will also get to take a walk to the library to return some overdue books. I'm so in need of getting out of the building for a bit on my unassigned periods like I'm accustomed to but have been chained to the computer trying to get that @#^$&*@# done.

Well... time to get things ready for tomorrow and jump in the shower soon as I just may be hitting the hay early tonight depending on this wave that's rearing it's ugly head again... sigh...

A New Day...

The start of a new week... and one filled with meetings and commitments but at least I'm one step closer to vacation. I made some good headway in the ASSessment this weekend and worked quite a bit on it. Kelsea was sick on Thursday and Friday and I needed to take her to the doctors on Friday so I took the day out of work. (Strep throat... yuck!) It allowed me to get a jump start on my weekend... although most of the day was spent in tears. I guess the brunt of my January (aided by some Matthew Ebel and Black Lab) just all came crashing down and I needed to just get it out...

It was a busy weekend again (of course) but yesterday I refused to leave the house so that I could get some cleaning done and devote a good chunk of time to getting this monkey off my back. I scheduled all the running around for Friday and Saturday so that I could do that. So, I took on the incredible task of decluttering my desk... (yikes!) and got a few more ASSessment goals done. I even scheduled in some play time in Second Life during the Super Bowl (sorry Bears fans...)

Right now it's 12 degrees and it's time to head out the door to start my work week... I'm on my second cup of coffee and as soon as the car is warm, I'm heading out with the optimism that a new day brings....

Good Riddance, January 2007!

Here's looking forward to better months ahead! I'll be happy to see the clock strike the midnight hour in just over 4 hours. It started off on New Years Day with hours of delays and canceled flights in the Detroit airport on the way home, then my Dad's accident and his care, which took up the first couple of weeks of the month. Then, Jake's concussion, the Patriots loss, other crap going on, and losing one of my most favorite (but challenging) students today because he's moving to another city, all coming rapid fire .... and still under the growing shadow of the @#%%&@# ASSessment that has consumed me..... (and has caused me to feel guilty for even opening a magazine or picking up a book.)

On the upside... I still have my health, a beautiful family, and a job that I love (minus the @#%%&@# ASSessment) and my house is clean :-)

Still waiting on the snow that's yet to arrive... and looking forward to February vacation when I'm planning on painting my bathroom, working on You-Know-What, and hopefully PODCASTING... (something else that I love that hasn't been getting done of late...sigh...)

Slack Break...

Taking a break from the dreaded ASSessment... grrr

Football Free Sunday...

Seems kinda weird but there will be no football this Sunday.... no gridiron action to for anyone as it's the off-week between the Championship games and the Superbowl. Had things gone differently, I no doubt would be giddy with excitement about my upcoming trip to Miami... however it was not meant to be this year.

Instead, I've got an afternoon of ASSessment work to look forward to... and not much else... sigh....

Assessments Suck....

Whoever was responsible for developing the RI Alternate Assessment for kids with significant disabilities obviously doesn't have a life and thinks that people who have to do them don't have lives either. I can bitch about all the reasons why I think the assessment itself is wrong and bogus but that's a topic for another time... (I'm already ripped enough about it so don't want to bring myself down even more by drudging it back up right here....) Point is... I'm in over my head right now because of it and although I've done a great job this month of getting back to writing out my lists of things to do and sticking to it, I'm so behind and feeling the crunch.

Random things I would love to be doing right now instead of this crap:

• yoga
• podcasting
• reading some fiction
• knitting a scarf
• cleaning (yes... a clean house makes me happy!)
• working on my website
• surfing message boards and reading up on my AFC Championship game bound Pats!
• cutting some clutter (goal for 2007... pare down the "stuff")
• chatting in Second Life
• a soduko or crossword puzzle

So... my strategy to make it through is to schedule in a set time each day for Assessment and also some of the good stuff listed above so that I don't totally freak out! At least there is some good news for the weekend which will help. Nothing on the agenda except the Club on Friday night, church Saturday night, and usual errands. Other than that, I don't have to leave the house! Have I ever mentioned that I love being home? I'll settle in to watch my boys win the AFC Championship then get online to book a flight to Miami on Sunday night and go to bed with a smile :-)

Long Weekend.. ahhhh!!

It's been quite a week! Haven't had a chance to blog at all (or even read others') because I've been over my head busy. Coming home from the Pats/Jets game (Yeah Pats!) last Sunday night, I got a call that my dad had been hurt and was in the hospital. Life this week hasn't been the same! He's home and ok but I spent quite a bit of time making sure that he had everything that he needed and running back and forth to his apartment before and after work each day. I'm glad that I live so close and I was available to him... and that my schedule at work is flexible enough that I could sneak out on my free periods to do what I needed to do. Nice to see him today almost completely back to his old self :-)

So, I must say, I've been looking forward to this weekend for about a month. It's the first weekend that I didn't have things scheduled on my calender for the entire weekend. I'm smiling right now because I was able to finally take my tree down and put my decorations away and cleaned quite a bit today. (Silly me... things like a clean house are enough to make my day...hehe!) Tomorrow, we could have headed up to Zip's for the game but have decided to watch from home and make a New England Clam Boil instead. I so need a day at home on the couch to just watch and enjoy while still being able to get things done around here.

Monday is completely dedicated to working on that assessment project that I should have done during Christmas vacation but got sidetracked by my toothache. I also have an IEP to do as well so I already informed Al to pretend that I'm not even home... Monday is my work from home day! Times like this I wish I had an office... heck.. I always wish I had an office so that I could podcast whenever I want to without having to plan it just right when the house is empty.
Anyway, I'm thankful that my schedule worked out so well, and that the long weekend came at just the right time.

Ok... time to get to some more things on my list and cross them off!

Doing the happy dance....

15 Minutes to:

ok... here's the game plan: 15 minute blocks to get everything done today that needs to get done. Although I still have some discomfort in my teeth, it appears that the gum recession was the problem since the pain has dissapated since he put in some bonding material to close the gap. That side of my mouth is still tender but at least I didn't totally lose yesterday like I lost Tuesday and Wednesday.

So, here's the deal... I'm breaking up things into little blocks today and sticking to my schedule.

• Read mail/blogs
• Shower and dress
• Straighten up house
• Computer Break/Breakfast (NOW!)
• Assessment
• More cleaning
• Break!
• Assessment
• Packing
• etc...

Continuing on alternating Assessment stuff, household stuff, packing, and breaks until it's time to get ready for the party tonight at Louie and MJ's house. Tomorrow morning (what WAS I thinking?!) our flight leaves at 6:15... so I definitely need to have everything done before leaving for the party...

Ok.. eggs are almost done so it's time to get busy with this list! Wish me luck :-)

SIGH>>>>>>

Another day and night of pain.. and plans left undone... sigh.... Last night I was still in agony and I'm hoping that's its just left over from the dentist messing around over there... I'm drinking coffee at the moment and it's not killing me so hopefully I'm all set for today.

This week has definitely not gone to plan because of the frequent trips to the couch to curl up in a fetal position and try to overcome the pain... So, my list is growing and time is running out until I head to TN...

As it is now, I'm on duty and will be driving the boys to wrestling in 5 minutes then I'll head over to school to feed my fish and will likely run a few errands (shopping, library, etc.) before picking them back up.

I'm hoping to get a podcast done today and definitely have to get moving on the Assessment. Of course, doing the show requires time to do a bit of research, gathering info, choosing music and having a quiet house to record. Then, posting and post stuff takes about an hour... so, hopefully it all works out but honestly, if my teeth act up... forget it.

Oops... just noticed the clock.. I'm off!

The Best Laid Plans....

are made to be broken... sigh... So, yesterday I had a huge list of things that I planned on doing and got up early to start tackling them. However, I started with an incredible toothache in the morning and that was the end of that! For me to resort to Extra Strength Excedrin you know it had to be bad. I literally couldn't stay at the computer as I needed to lay down and put acu-pressure on the gums to try to relieve the pain. I sent Kelsea out for some Oragel which helped a little but the entire day was pretty much a wash.

I just got back from the dentist and he looked around and couldn't see anything brewing there so the pain must be coming from some exposed roots where my gums receded a bit... He put some bonding material there and hopefully it will do the trick because first of all, the pain sucks and also I can't afford to give up any more days this week. I still have that huge project to get done and it's already Wednesday. I'm on Mommycab duty tomorrow for wrestling practice so I'll be in and out then. Friday night, we have a party and Saturday we take off for Nashville for the Pats/Titans game.

Well... time to throw in a load of laundry, straighten up a bit, check the rest of my email then get busy on that Assessment....

Tuesday Game Plan

mmmmmmmmmmmm.... that's the sound of contentment :-) Holiday hustle and bustle is behind me and I'm well into my list of things to do for today. I'm off until next Tuesday and I have a productive week planned with some scheduled down time in there as well :-)

Yesterday was heaven... Besides making lunch, I did nothing all day other than drink coffee, read blogs and email, hang in Second Life, listen to podcasts, chat via Skype, do crossword and soduko puzzles and watch football. Now THAT'S the way to relax! Christmas is the one day of the year that is "my day" to just totally veg out. Now, I'm ready to tackle my list for the week...

Today, the goal is to work on a huge Assessment project for school. It's something that I'm required to do and I just haven't had the time during the school day to work on it. Once I finish updating my website and answering email, I'm clearing off the table and spreading out all of my stuff and I'm going to town. I don't have to leave the house at all today, and don't plan to... Another mom is driving the boys to wrestling practice today so I'm free to work exclusively on my project without interuption.

Of course, I'm going to schedule in some breaks in the action, both to "play" and to do other things like switching and folding laundry. Realistically, the project may take more than one day but it's so important to get it done early in the week as I don't want it hanging over me, I have other things on my list this week, and we're going away for the weekend so it's got to get done now...

ok... time to refill my cup, switch over the load and getting started on my web updates...