BMM Wednesday #3

The prompt for Wednesdays of Sara McClung‘s Blog Me, MAYbe blogfest, is MAY I ask you something?

What’s the #1 most played song on your iPod?

BMM Tuesday #3

The prompt for Tuesdays of Sara McClung‘s Blog Me, MAYbe blogfest, is MAY I tell you something about myself?

This is another A to Z survey I found on my old Facebook notes. Enjoy!

A – Age: 31

B – Bed size: Queen

C – Chore you hate: Folding laundry

D – Dog’s name: The family dog’s name was “BJ” but I haven’t had a dog for a few years, now.

E – Essential start your day item: Shower and iced tea

F – Favorite color: Pink

G – Gold or Silver: Silver…or white gold…but secretly I do like yellow gold for certain items!

H – Height: 5’6″

I – Instruments you play(ed): clarinet in junior high, baby!

J – Job title: Teacher, Leadership Advisor

K – Kid(s): None for now.

L – Living arrangements: Townhome with the husband in Tacoma

M – Mom’s name: Tina

N – Nicknames: Kar, Karebear

O – Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Never (lucky me!) I only went to the hospital once for a seizure.

P – Pet Peeve: Irrational people, text language, windsheild wipers not at the perfect speed-to-rainfall ratio, people who don’t drive the speed limit, people who need/seek attention all the time

Q – Quote from a movie (here are many from my quotes on Facebook): “They make you feel cool. And hey–I met you. You are not cool”

R – Right or left handed: Right

S – Siblings: Brother, Ty (30)

T – Time you wake up: 5:00ish AM

U- Underwear: I wear them…

V – Vegetable you dislike: I’m a picky eater…I don’t like broccoli, that I know.

W – Ways you run late: I don’t totally know what this is asking, but if I’m running late it usually has to do with internet use. Or traffic.

X – X-rays you’ve had: Dental

Y – Yummy food you make: I’m not a fancy cook but thanks to allrecipes.com and Pinterest I make a mean chicken noodle casserole people seem to like. And a stuffed french toast breakfast casserole people like.

Z – Zoo favorite: The whole zoo–minus the stupid “raptor” exhibit. Birds are birds. Bring in a raptor dinosaur and then we’re talking!

Friday Five

The YA Bookmobile - Now that I can focus on reading again, I’m participating in The YA Bookmobile in May! We’ll be reading Veronica Roth’s Insurgent (the second book in her trilogy, following Divergent) and I am so looking forward to it since I’ve already read the book and it’s amazeballs.  Check out YA Highway’s Bookmobile situation and consider joining in the fun!

The blogfest (Blog Me, MAYbe) - I have been participating in Blog Me, MAYbe these first two weeks of May. BMM is a blogfest hosted by Sara McClung and has been a fun way to share about myself, and learn about other bloggers and the writers I enjoy following. Please check out some of my posts from Wednesdays and tell me a little about yourself!

The Letters- Did you know about this website/blog, Letters of Note? There is a book that will be published in November 2012, and you can pre-order the book here. I find the letters very fascinating, but as an English teacher slash history aficionado slash book junkie perhaps that’s not surprising.

The Cavalier Trilogy - I went to a book signing during my time off from blogging for my friend Jason McWhirter. Jason is a teacher in my school and has also written a young adult fantasy novel that he self-pubbed. Take a look at my Blog Me, MAYbe post here, and his blog, here.

The National Board Certification Process (AKA why I went missing for a month and a half)- I saved this for last in case you want to stop reading. I haven’t written much about my National Boards journey, but here it is: I decided to pursue board certification because I know I’m a good teacher, I love my job, and it’s the highest form of certification for teachers, is nationally recognized, etc. I thought, man, I should be able to prove how good I am and how much I love my job pretty easily, and, I’ve got my best teacher-friend to go through this process with! So a day before the application deadline in May 2009, teacher-friend Nicole and I applied to the NBPTS.
–> In March 2010 I submitted my portfolio for the first time.  This was a mini-disaster, as I had done a solid job on two of the entries and put together the last one through two all-nighters the days before I had to mail the dreaded box. But there is a fourth entry I was neglecting. Something like 24 hours before the mailing deadline I was trying to decide if there was any way to change my candidacy to Take One, which would mean only submitting one of my completed entries. This was not possible, so in March 2010 I sent in Entries 2, 3 and 4 in their entirety and Entry 1 with just a cover sheet so it could be scored and I knew I could (and likely would) have to retake. Then there was the assessment center, blah, blah, blah in April 2010. For NBs, you submit in March and get your results in November. I wasn’t surprised that Entry 1 was a zero but was surprised my Entry 4 received a very low score. Entry 4 is Documented Accomplishments, and I am a leader in my school in many ways.
–> In April 2011 I sent in a refined Entry 4 and a newly minted Entry 1, which I thought I had done solidly. I knew I had to do the two entries to cover my butt, so to speak, to make up the score. Even though it was solid, I was still mailing the box on the final day. Entry 1 received a low score (boo) and Entry 4 wasn’t scored because I didn’t make enough changes to the entry.
–> THIS year went significantly better! I have my Entries 1 and 4 that I am retaking AGAIN, and this is my last chance. I spent even more time working on Entry 1 and I started over on Entry 4, so I am confident both will be great. I spent a lot of time revising/editing and re-checking and then mailed before the deadline. THE BOX is safe and sound in TX and will be scored this summer. Sorry to bore you all with my three-year journey but maybe not surprisingly you’ll learn that I get my therapy through writing and this is very soothing and motivational for me.

BMM Wednesday #2

The prompt for Wednesdays of Sara McClung‘s Blog Me, MAYbe blogfest, is MAY I ask you something?

What is one song that would be part of the soundtrack of your life, and why?