Music Mondays!

This is a special video with a song a love. I found the video amazing and it reminded me that as humans, we many think we only touch a life for a little bit. But our impressions last a lifetime.

Fill in the Blank Friday! Happy Fall Ya'll!

1. Nothing says fall like going to the pumpkin patch, enjoying cold weather, Big Blue Madness, and seeing KY number 2 in the preseason basketball polls.

2. My favorite autumn tradition is going to the pumpkin patch with my class. It is so exciting to see the look on their faces as this is many times the first pumpkin patch experience for them.

3. My favorite fall treat is Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte!

4. Fall makes be think of Paducah because of all the wonderful memories I have of Fall Festivals, jumping in leaves, and seeing the season's change.

5. Autumn free form word association go! pumpkins, cool weather, open windows, no humidity.

6. My go-to outfit in the fall is leggings and a sweater dress.

7. My favorite holiday is (Halloween or Thanksgiving) I have to say I am very partial to Thanksgiving. I was actually born on Thanksgiving Day 1980. Because of this, my birthdays were a bit different from other....pie instead of cake. However, now that everyone is grown, my family always celebrates my birthday on Thanksgiving. When I was little I would get upset because I couldn't have a birthday party like other kids, so my mom would always tie a balloon to my bed for me to wake up to on my birthday to make it extra special. She still does sometimes.

Music Mondays.......

Heard this on the radio the other day and my mind went back to the mid-90s for a little while.

Fill in the Blank Friday!

1. The most selfless thing I have ever done become a teacher at an at-risk school. It has given me a true sense of empathy and the knowledge to know how to make a difference.

2. When it comes to working out I am inconsistent. I have a true love hate relationship with it. However, I went to they gym for the first time in a while this week, and it did feel pretty good after.

3. A woman should always know how to hold her liquor. No one likes the drunk girl crying int he corner.

4. I wish I could pack my bags and move to NYC tomorrow. And then I'd erase that off the bucket list!

5. A best friend is someone who knows all the trash, and still loves you anyway.

6. I can't get enough of Donnie Wahlberg.

7. This weekend I am going to enjoy an extra day off work, go to UL Homecoming, and catch up around this house!

Meeting one of my heroes

2008

Music Mondays! 20 Years of Nirvana!

This music revolutionized a generation...and me.

Steve Jobs

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something-your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life"

-Steve Jobs

As we all know, the world recently said good-bye to someone who had a huge role in changing it. It was Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs. He was a modern day Thomas Edison or Henry Ford. He revolutionized technology for all of eternity. And what is perhaps is one of the biggest irony's of his passing, is that much of the world found out about it on the very device that he helped to invent.

I want to take a little time to share with you a few of the things that Steve Jobs has done for me. First of all, he got me in trouble in the 2nd grade. You see, our class had an Apple computer. You know, the ones that were "portable and light weight", but needed about 3 boxes to transport? Yeah, that kind. This was also when floppy disks were actually floppy and had that hole in the middle. Well, one day, while on the computer, I was taking one of the disks and swirling it around my finger. Which in turn, ruined the disk and the game that was on it (Perhaps Oregon Trail?). Anyway, what I remember about this incident was that I was so afraid that I was going to be in big trouble. When the disk stopped working, our school secretary (who had grown up with my dad) came in to see if she could figure out the problem....which she then determined to be that my swirling had permanently damaged the disk. I remember she jokingly (I think) said, "I'm gonna tell your daddy". I think that I spent the next few days fearing that she would, in fact, tell my daddy.

He has also had a huge impact on my career and how I teach. It really bothers me when I hear people say "Who really NEEDS an iPad/iPod/iPhone?" Well, I'm going to go ahead and tell you about some people who really NEED an iPad/iPod/iPhone. You see, Apple products have for a long time been embraced by those in the disability community because of their adaptive features. People who are visually impaired benefit from the enlarged print and screen that is easy to access, as well as the text to speech and the new speech to text features. Those who are hearing impaired can have access to subtitles while watching movies and television on other devices in real time. Individuals that have motor impairments can manipulate the touch screen with much more ease than a keyboard or paper and pencil. In turn, it is easier for them to do everyday tasks such as pay bills or make a grocery list. And individuals with Autism benefit form the the many communication applications that help them to use pictures to communicate and often reduce their frustration that can develop by not being able to convey their wants and needs to others.

One thing that my mom has always said and I believe as well, that everyone's life has a meaning and a purpose. But the irony here is that Steve Jobs' life meaning and purpose was to revolutionize technology. And in turn, this technology helped to provide meaning and purpose to other peoples lives.

Fill in the Blank Friday!

1. Something popular that I can't stand/just don't "get" is the whole Harry Potter and Twilight craze. It just doesn't do anything for me.

2. Something unpopular that I secretly love is The Brady Bunch. It is my all time favorite show. I could watch it over and over and over again.

3. When I've had a bad day I sit in a quiet room, call my mom to vent, and then watch some good trash TV.

4. I'd prefer staying up all night to getting up early any day.

5. Something that makes me nervous is flying. As much as I love to travel, I still get nervous every time I get on a plane, and I don't calm down until I'm back on terra firma.

6. Something worth fighting for is standing up for what you believe in. Solidarity!

7. When people think of me, I hope they think that I am a fun loving individual that is independent and goal oriented.

One Picture

Today's is the final day in this 10 day challenge about me. It turned out the be a quit difficult one. You see, the challenge was to post one picture of my self. Seems simple, right? Wrong. You see, I love pictures. Not because I'm narcissistic and love to look at myself, but because pictures hold so much meaning. So much value. Pictures are the only thing on this Earth than can capture a split second in time that will never come or go again. What really amazes me is that I can't tell you off the top of my head what was going on in my life 10 or 15 years ago, but show me a picture, and it all changes. I can tell you if I was sick that day, what the other people in the picture were up to that day, and why I was wearing a certain outfit. Hell, I can even give to the correct excuse as to why my hair wasn't looking good that day.

With all that being said, it was a challenge for me to only choose one picture to share. One picture to tell my story. There are so many pictures, or moments in time that mean so much to me, it's hard for me to just share one with the world. So, I decided to cheat just a little. Instead, I made ONE picture slideshow that helps to tell my story of who I am and how I got here!

A slideshow by Smilebox

Music Mondays!

I've been listening to a lot of my old favorites lately....love me some Pearl Jam!

Two Songs

I have always been a music lover. I remember as a little girl sitting the the back seat of the Oldsmobile and singing along to Madonna's "Poppa Don't Preach" and not even knowing what the song was REALLY about (I think it was about a girl who's dad didn't like her boyfriend). There are many songs that I love and hold dear to my heart. Many times, they have a special meaning or significance to my life. I think that's what I like the most about music. A simple song can transform you back to a place in time that you may have otherwise never thought you would go back to.

ONE

This song gets me every time. I remember being made to learn the lyrics in school. Little did I know, that on day in the future, I would no longer reside in the Bluegrass State and this simple song would take me back to the hallways of Morgan Elementary School. I also look forward to going to a big Cats win and singing this along with a few thousand of my closest friends!

TWO

If there is one song that encompasses me...this is it.

Three Films

I've always found it interesting how the genre of movies that a person likes in many ways often parallels their life and their personality. Personally, I've never really been into horror films or action adventure movies. And if you want some proof, I didn't even see The Sixth Sense or Saw II, both of which have Donnie Wahlberg. I tend to like two kinds of movies: off color comedies that require the viewer to have a wicked sense of humor and a taste for dirty jokes. The other type being chick flicks. Like many women my age, I have often watched a chick flick and laughed and stood in awe of the many ways in which it paralleled my own life. Here are three of my most favorite movies:

ONE

Riding in Cars with Boys. I love everything Drew Barrymore. I love her style, her sense of adventure, and her pride in being an independent woman. On many, many, many occasions, I have had both strangers and friends tell me how much I remind them of her. I take it as the best compliment that I could receive. And I LOVE her movie Riding in Cars with Boys. It is one of those movies that I could watch over and over and over again and never get tired of it!

TWO

Dirty Dancing. Who doesn't want to be Baby? When I found out that this movie was actually based on someone's real life experience, I must admit that I was a bit jealous. Every girl, and I don't care who you are, has watched this movie and dreamed of what it would be like to take a simple vacation and have a torrid affair with a bad boy. No matter what else is going on, if I'm flipping through the channels and this movie is on, I stop and relive "Nobody put's baby in a corner". I also have to give my mom credit for introducing me to the classic film...she was CRAZY FOR SWAYZE back in the 80s.

THREE

The Hangover. And why? Because it reminds me of people I know and have hung out with. Not that any of my nights have ever been that crazy, but trust me, there have been a few that I have woken up from and wondered how I made it out alive.

Four Books

I have never been much of a reader. I'm not really sure why. Growing up my family always had books in the house and my parents would read to me all the time. And my older sister Kellie is addicted to reading. I honestly believe if she could put books into a syringe and inject it in her veins, she would! However, from time to time, I come across a book that I love and can't put down.

ONE

Someone Like Me. I stumbled across this book by pure accident. I was trying to find children's books that had characters with special needs. However, along my search, I found this wonderful memoir of a many with Cerebral Palsy and no limits. This books depicts how he lived with CP and overcame the odds to achieve his dream of being in the United States Navy.

TWO

Eat, Pray, Love. When I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I love the story and the author's real life sense of adventure and finding herself. After reading this book, I was truly inspired and began to not only think of how I would "eat, pray, and love" my way through life, but I also began to search for my "word".

THREE

The Color Purple. This is one of those books that I could read over and over and over again. I first read it in the 9th grade and I fell in love with it. I just love the story and the many meanings that lie with in this great piece of literature.

FOUR

The Last Lecture. I was first introduced to Randy Pausch and his book The Last Lecture a few years ago while watching Oprah. I was so moved by his story of living and dying with pancreatic cancer. I was amazed at the bravery and courage that it must have taken to write a novel that depicts how someone would tell their own life story for the last time.