Case of the Mondays

Today we had a case of the Mondays...yet again.

I thought it was just 6th grade Language Arts...but then 8th grade was chatty...and the first 7th grade...and then the second 7th grade.

Maybe it's just me...? (Well, that was cleared up when I talked to my fellow colleagues and teacher friends at other schools.)

But honestly, today felt like Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day because things went from bad (having no heat through the night and into the morning - which included no hot water for a shower when I got back from the gym - due to some problem on our whole block) to worse (when I felt ineffective as a teacher).

Some days just knock you on your butt. For me, those days are usually known as Mondays. (It's too bad they come around so often.)

But that means the week can only get better. Tomorrow will be a chance for me to get back up and stare Tuesday in the face.

And I'm ready...


P.S. Here are some of my most recent classroom photos - as you'll see, we're doing some Church history, Hobbit, etc...

Snow Day = Extended Christmas Break

Snow day? That phrase is one of which dreams are made.

When I got the text from my co-worker that school would be closed on Monday, I pretty much squealed with joy. (Think small child receiving amazing gift on Christmas morning.)

Can we say decreased stress level? Yes.
Are my lesson plans for the week finished? Yes.
Do I have the motivation to work ahead for next week? Ummm...I'm working on that.

But it was so nice to take a break last night and this morning - after Mass, my sister came over, and, with one of my roommates, we did some typical night-before-snow-day activities: board game, movie, and chocolate. And, before bringing my sister back to her apartment this morning, we caught up on Episode 1 of Season 4 Downton Abbey. (It's a good one!)

Yes, it's certainly cold outside. (If you don't believe me, check my car's digital temperature reading on the left below - I didn't think it could show negative numbers, but, apparently, it can.) I wonder what tomorrow's weather will bring...

Looks like it's time to get motivated - It shouldn't be that hard because it's too cold to venture outside and there's not much on TV...but these things are easier said than done...

As we go 'Twitter'ing...

Let's face it, I'm a pretty regular user of Blogger, Facebook, Pinterest, Feedly (R.I.P. Google Reader), Google Docs, and Evernote. And I regularly visit sites like TED, NPR, NYTimes, TJP, and other sites to stay up to date on what's happening in the world (and also in the worlds of education & my faith).

And I was fine with that.

Really.

But more and more, my friends started posting what the Pope tweeted on Facebook. And one of the priests at my parish started referencing Twitter a lot. And I kept noticing hashtags (e.g. #isitfridayyet). #everywhere.

So I finally joined the Twitter nation (@KFoyle), not because I necessarily have the desire to tweet my own thoughts but mostly to follow and engage with the tweets of others. However, if I do post, I will try not to be obnoxious, nor will I attempt to bore people with the mundane happenings of my life. (We'll just have to see where the tweeting spirit leads me...)

So, happy Monday, friends. We made it.

And here's a little Twitter humor/food for thought for your day:

- "On Twitter we get excited if someone follows us. In real life we get really scared and run away." ~Unknown

-"It's not just about consuming content, but sharing it, passing it on, and adding to it." - @ariannahuff

-“LinkedIn is for the people you know. Facebook is for the people you used to know. Twitter is for people you want to know” ~ Source unknown