Punished By Reward

I read this totally rad book, "Punished By Reward: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes" by Alfie Kohn. If you're a teacher (or a parent, for that matter), this book makes some valid points. HOWEVER, I have to say that the strict guidelines this book encourages are tough. The girls I teach come from families that have little to nothing (one of my girls turned in a financial form that said her family makes $7000 a year for a family of 5), so little tokens of appreciation seem to go further with them. I gave the "no bribery" thing a good run. I tried...I really did. And it. did. not. work. I know that in the long run I may not be helping them by offering bribes (ahem...rewards), but it's not like I'm rewarding them for every single thing they do. They have to earn it, they have to show me that they deserve to be rewarded, and they have to understand/reflect on why they are being rewarded. I'm a big believer in reflection (that's why I have my girls journal every day). That being said, my 7th and 8th graders had a rough couple of weeks, but they are turning it around. So....

Picture 110: April 20, 2010: I rewarded good behavior today.

My (Aching) Tailbone

Apparently there isn't much you can do to heal a tailbone once it's injured, and lucky me, I'm sitting (or not so much...) with a tailbone injury to boot. IT HURTS!! I was walking down the stairs (in my socks...duh...) to the basement to start a load of laundry, and with my laundry basket in tow, I slipped on the top step and slid (or bumped) all the way down the (cement) stairs. ICK!! The bruises are lovely - black and blue and disgusting, and even a slight bump in the road while I drive the car hurts my rear. Oh JOY!! I've come to terms with the fact that I'm a huge KLUTZ, but this is ridiculous....

I had all the ambition to post my pictures more diligently (especially since Wendy said she likes my "Pictures A Day" - thanks Wendy :)), but then the pain in my rear (literally - ha!) has been distracting......

Today's picture (Picture 109: April 19, 2010)....More tulips....Aren't these cool - they grow with the jagged edges like that. Tulips are quickly becoming my favorite flower!! (These particular flowers came from one of Marcy's good friends from college, Megan. She and another of Marcy's friends from college, Melissa, came to town this weekend to celebrate Marcy's birthday)

Picture 104: April 14, 2010

I LOVE this movie (almost as much as I love "The Cutting Edge...but not quite). I remember watching it for the first time with my parents and thinking it was so good. Now, when I watch it, I always get a good laugh...If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend it! We watched it last night while Marcy wrote an article for GIrl Scout magazine and I worked on lesson plans.

Today is Marcy's birthday. She has to drive Linden to soccer practice and drama class tonight, so we're saving our celebration for this weekend....We did go out to lunch at Belltown Burgers (YUM!) and I got Marcy a Mint Chocolate Cake (DOUBLE YUM!)

April 13, 2010

Tulips are in BLOOM!! The tulips bloom all over Seattle during the spring. There's a HUGE tulip farm about an hour north of here, so it seems that everyone has tulips in their yards. LOVE IT :)

I've been taking pictures every day, but I'm bored with putting it on my blog...Thus, if I can upload it ON THE DAY, then I will...otherwise I'll just skip uploading... :) My new goal is to actually do it on the day, because then maybe I won't be so bored with it. We'll see!!

Owls

I love this new background because I have a slight obsession with owls. I think they are so cute as cartoons and I think the actual bird is totally rad... I was definitely jealous of my Chi Omega friends in college (for my non-Greek friends, the owl is their mascot)...The Kappa Delta mascot is a Teddy Bear, which is fine, but let's face it, those just aren't as funky and cool as owls....

The City By The Bay

I got Marcy a trip to San Francisco for her Christmas present, and our trip was scheduled for my Spring Break. We went for three nights with two full days and had a blast!

Our first day was spent exploring the eclectic neighborhoods on foot, and day two was spent on bikes exploring the city, the Golden Gate Bridge, and taking in the beautiful views! The weather was perfect (Well, perfect weather minus the last hour of our bike ride....it started POURING and we were soaked. Needless to say, I became MORE than grumpy since I was soaked down to my sports bra.... but other than that....ha!)

I love the architecture of the homes in San Francisco - I was definitely humming the "Full House" theme (okay let's be real, I was singing it...Yes, I know the words) while we walked through the neighborhoods. Marcy was thrilled....

San Francisco Icon - The Transamerica Building

Marcy and me on top of the Coit Tower - a great way to see the city for only $5. We rode in the elevator that is original to the tower (1912) - definitely a little shaky and creaky, but totally cool!

The Embarcadero is a Ferry Terminal with shops and restaurants and a market on Tuesdays. Lucky for us, we were there on a Tuesday, so we had fun exploring the market and had an awesome lunch at this modern soda fountain place - YUM!

Pride flags everywhere...we were in San Francisco after all :)

We rented bikes from Blazing Saddles. This bike fanny pack, coupled with my AMAZING (yeah, right...) cycling skills definitely helped me blend in with all the other cyclists. It really was tons of fun, and I was only *slightly* sore the next day....

Marcy checking the map to make sure we were headed in the correct direction. We passed a cyclist earlier and he said that the minute we started heading down hill we should know we were going the wrong way. Um, okay....

THE Bridge - So spectacular!! We rode across it, which was incredibly windy but totally worth it!! Our total mileage for the day was 23 miles. Most of my hardcore cyclist friends think that's nothing, but I definitely felt a huge sense of accomplishment at the end of the day!!

I wonder how many people have this exact same picture

Such a sweet bridge!!

Spring Break and Easter

And once again, I slacked off on blogging....
Picture 95: April 5, 2010
The view of Mt. Rainier was beautiful on my drive to the school this morning. Love getting to see it on clear days!!

Picture 94: April 4, 2010
Our Easter Table - we had friends over for Easter Brunch at Dinner, since I had to work at Starbucks all day...

Picture 93: April 3, 2010
Getting ready for our Easter Party - I LOVE these little chicks - aren't they cute!! One of them died last year...Billy was hungry. I bet they styrofoam tasted yummy.... :)

Picture 92: April 2, 2010
My Nutella cupcake treat. I brought it home from San Fran and enjoyed every bite!!

Picture 91: April 1, 2010
We got home from San Francisco, and Billy was just a little (ha!) excited to see us!!

Picture 90: March 31, 2010
Our bicycle ride through San Francisco was wonderful!! We rode 23 MILES!! It rained for the last hour or so, but other than that I really enjoyed seeing the city via bike.

Picture 89: March 30, 2010
The dessert display case at this awesome bakery in San Francisco. YUM!!

Picture 88: March 29, 2010
These two pictures are taken from the same spot within seconds of each other. One is looking east, the other looking west. Living so close to the ocean means rapid weather changes with strong heavy winds!!


Picture 87: March 28, 2010
I finally finished this bow holder for my friend Amber's new baby girl, Brenna!!