Enjoying the Course

6.17.2010

Thankful Thursdays

Man, it's been quite a day!

Work was busy and LONG and tiring. My run this morning left me with a nasty headache most of the day. Blah!

Still...

There's got to be something to be thankful for, right?!

How about my cutie-patootie, Sallie Sue?

This is her through my dad's screened porch. Who couldn't love that face? She's adorable and such a great snuggler. She always makes me happy.

Or my awesome YW Camp Leaders

They did such a great job last night at our pre-camp meeting, teaching the girls First Aid.

They make me excited for camp.

And I can't forget my wonderful husband

I know I listed him last week, but I'm especially grateful for him when I'm feeling grouchy.

*****************************************

What are you thankful for today?

So...Jeff and I joined the gym back in April. We've been going pretty diligently a few times a week. Pretty good, right?

EXCEPT MY CARDIO WORKOUTS HAVE DECREASED IMMENSELY.

And, my weight loss has definitely stagnated. I keep telling myself that I'm building muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat, but...

CARDIO IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT TO GOOD PHYSICAL FITNESS.

Time to start incorporating more cardio. Since we generally focus on weight training when we go to the gym together, and I don't want to spend my entire evening at the gym, I decided I needed to push myself to run in the morning before work.

So, I set my alarm for 5a.m.

After snoozing 3 times, I finally decided around 5:22 that I simply didn't want to snooze anymore. I didn't necessary want to get up and go for a run, either. BUT I knew that if I just turned off my alarm and didn't get out of bed, I would sleep and sleep and sleep and be way late for work.

So, I got up and ran 2.5 miles.

It was a beautiful morning for a run! Sallie certainly enjoyed herself, too.

Unfortunately, now I am still hot and sweaty (yes, even after taking a shower). Of course it doesn't help that I have about 1.4 miles to walk to work and then I took the stairs to the 7th floor.

I know I shouldn't complain, because in about 2 hours I'll probably be grabbing that sweatshirt!

*************************************
What's your favorite time of day to run / exercise??

6.15.2010

Tech Tuesday: GeoGreeting

You have to check out this very cool website.

Basically, you type in a message, and it finds satellite images of buildings around the world that look like each letter in your message. Then it generates a link that you can copy and email to your friends. There is also an option to send as an e-card or a MySpace e-card.

Here's an example link I created this morning.

If you wanted to take this a step further with your kids or students, you could then click on a letter to view the building on a Google map.

6.11.2010

Flashback Friday: Grandma Gertie

Gertrude Wilma Ausbern (Bird-Wilson)

December 22, 1920 - June 5, 2010

This is a picture of my grandma holding me at Christmastime 1979.

This picture was taken at my high graduation party.

My grandma is the redhead on the left.

This is a 5-generation picture; the baby is my sister's 2nd child, AJ.

Yesterday, I attended my grandma Gertie's funeral. It was a very nice service. One of my cousins, who was unable to attend, wrote a letter that one of his brothers read. It was really touching to hear about all of his memories about Grandma Gertie.

My grandma lived in AZ most of my life, so I didn't have the opportunity to spend much time with her. It was wonderful to learn so many interesting things about her yesterday. And to hear so many fun stories. She will be missed, and I wish I'd gotten to know her better.

6.10.2010

Thankful Thursdays

Family Home Evening Group -- Jeff and I initiated an FHE group a few weeks ago with some couples in our ward. We've only met twice so far (had to take off Memorial Day), but it's such a blessing to gather with others to have a gospel-centered discussion. I know that we'll get to learn a lot about the gospel and one another!

My husband -- This past week at FHE one question that was posed was "What do you appreciate about your spouse?" It really got me thinking about the things that Jeff does for me. Here is a short list of a few of the reasons I love him so much.

He is so supportive the things I want...my dreams.
He is a great storyteller, and he has so many fun stories to tell.
He is always willing to go do things with me that aren't necessarily enjoyable.
He helps keep me informed about world events and politics (topics I normally do not enjoy)
He always treats me with love and respect and would never talk bad about me to others.

My Grandma Gertie -- I wasn't particularly close with her, but she still holds a special place in my heart. She lived far away in AZ most of my life. She passed away this past Saturday, and I am off her to funeral this morning. She leaves behind 8 kids, and many grandkids, great-grandkids, and, I think, even a couple of great-great-grandkids. She lived to be 89 years old. I remember her wild red hair. Tomorrow's Flashback Friday will be devoted to her. So check back for a couple of pictures.

My family -- We can really rally for a funeral. It's too bad that such a sad occasion brings us together. It's a time when I get to see so many cousins that I generally only see at funerals. Does this happen in other families as well?

I could go on and on about other things I'm thankful for, I'm sure, but it's nearly time to go.

What are you thankful for today?

6.08.2010

Tech Tuesday: Prezi

I recently learned about Prezi in my technology course last semester. I like to describe it has PowerPoint on steroids. I believe they market it as the only zooming presentation tool. The zooming feature makes boring slide presentations come alive with movement. On their home page, there is a great video introducing you to this tool, if you're unfamiliar with it.

I created a couple Prezi presentations for my class last semester. Overall, I found that it was really user-friendly. For someone who tends to be a bit of a perfectionist, it can, however, be a little trying. There is no real good way to get text to line up perfectly, so the more abstract thinker will probably enjoy this tool a little better than someone a bit more concrete. It did teach me to try and let some of those things go. Once I was able to do that, I really came to enjoy this software!

There are a few other quirks, but they have a great Learn section and manual to help you along your way. There is also a showcase where you can look at presentations created by others. Some are even available for reuse, which means you can save a copy to your page and edit it to fit your needs or topics. How great is that?!

Here are a couple of Prezis that I've enjoyed. They are particularly related to education/teaching.

Thoughts on Using Prezi as Teaching Tool by Paul Hill

Playing to Learn by Maria Andersen

Here are the two Prezis I created for my class.

This first one is the first that I created. I'm taking an independent study course on Environmental Studies right now, so I created this to help me understand and learn more about Natural Selection. As a future teacher, I could use this in my classroom to help students understand this Theory as well.

Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

Ok. One more, and I'll let you get back to your regularly scheduled day. :-)

This Prezi I created as part of my final project in my technology course. My idea was to begin a unit with a timeline that showed specifics events. I would then break the class into groups and have each group choose (or perhaps I would assign) an event on the timeline to elaborate one. Each group would then collaborate on that topic and add it to the class Prezi. I've created an example of what an elaboration might look like. I'd be willing to bet that my students would be far more insightful and creative than I was!

Early Civilization in Afroeurasia to 450 BCE

I tried to embed these presentation, but they didn't look so good on my blog.