Happy Birthday, Hubba!

Howdy from Jaclyn in Aggieland!

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend and that you take at least one moment this weekend to remember and give thanks to the men and women who have died protecting our freedom.

Yesterday was Hubba's birthday! Happy birthday, Hubba!

We went to lunch at a new brewery in the Northgate District - Blackwater Draw Brewing Company. I was hoping to get there in time for brunch, but I woke up too late.  We ended up getting an order of their #YESSIR fries, I got a BYOB (Build Your Own Burger), and Hubba got the Charles Brat-son. The fries were sweet potato with cinnamon, sugar and feta, but there wasn't any substance to hold the feta onto the fries. I think the fries at The Luxury in San Antonio are waaaaayyy better. But, I loved my burger. And I am awful picky about my burgers. It was on a sourdough bun. I love the slight sweetness with the hamburger. It was also sturdy enough to hold together throughout the entire burger. The patty was not too big, but it also wasn't small. It comes with arugula, red onion, and a thick slice of an heirloom tomato. Then you get two "freebies" and if you want to add cheese, a fried egg, or peanut butter (among other choices), there is a fairly standard upcharge. All of their "freebies" are house made. I got their sriracha mayo and chipotle ranch and cheddar cheese. It was really good. Hubba took home a 64 oz. growler of their Kolsch.

We can bring back the jug the next time we go and get it filled with anything on draft.

After lunch, we kind of lazed around and ran a couple of errands, but mostly just relaxed with each other, not doing anything special until dinner time. Hubba had made plans to have dinner with the neighbors and watch a movie. They had made a lot of pizza dough, so we had a lot of fun making a bunch of different pizzas on the grill outside until the coals weren't hot enough. Here is a picture of our toppings spread:

We ate out in the back yard, rolling out dough, mixing up the combination of ingredients, and sharing our creations amongst the four of us. The toppings we had available were: traditional tomato based pizza sauce, pesto, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mushrooms, bell peppers, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, shredded mozzarella, cheddar, red onions, basil, jalapenos, and corn. The coals didn't quite stay hot enough for all of our pizzas, so the last savory pizza was cooked in the neighbors' oven and I started working on getting the dessert pizza toppings ready.

(Sorry there are no pictures of the dessert toppings.) For the dessert pizzas, we used the same pizza dough used for our other pizzas. We pre-cooked the dough, but I think it would be fine to not do that, or makes calzones. My original idea was to smear the dough with nutella, but I didn't realize that we were out. So, instead, we melted some good chocolate and smeared that on the pizza. Then, I had brought out a variety of toppings: bananas, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple chunks, apples, pecans, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, butter, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, Hershey's chocolate syrup. Everyone was able to put on their own dessert pizza whatever they wanted. No one was entirely sold that this would be delicious, but it turned out great and everyone seemed to really love their creations. Mine had the melted chocolate, bananas, pecans, and marshmallows. I stuck mine back in the oven long enough for the marshmallows to get toasted and then sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top. The powdered sugar, we all agreed, was necessary to give some sweetness that was lacking in the dough. I thought it was amazing.  After that, the neighbors brought over some slices of watermelon and we sat out eating our watermelon and spitting out the seeds. Next summer, maybe the backyard will have a watermelon crop!

After that, we watched Castle in the Sky. I forgot how much I liked it. Hayao Miyazaki is a great storyteller.

 Ryan and I at The Salt Lick earlier this month.

Thanks and Gig 'Em!

Cool Ranch Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Howdy from Jaclyn in Aggieland!

Tonight for dinner, we made this! It was good and super easy, which is really good considering I continue to battle insomnia and am still trying to be productive, which leaves little energy for things like cooking...

Tomorrow, two of Hubba's classmates (and former students of mine when I was a TA) are coming over for dinner to work on their project. They are building a rocket (I think).

I appreciate those of you who have been following the blog!

Thanks and Gig 'Em!

Two New Additions to Our Home

Howdy from Jaclyn in Aggieland!

Tonight, Hubba and I went on a "mini-date" that ended up being not so mini! I worked all afternoon on prep for summer I (how am I going to be ready in 13 days!?!). After a quick stop at home, Hubba and I went to dinner at Cheddars and then went indoor plant shopping at Home Depot. We found several plants that we loved, but out of all of them, only two were cat-friendly enough for us to feel comfortable getting them. We ended up getting a Burgundy Rubber Plant and a Cat Palm. Our next stop was TJMaxx in the hopes that they had pots that were big enough for our new family members and would go with our house. We lucked out there and then headed to Target, where we also lucked out. TJMaxx had a couple of nice pieces of furniture that I wanted, but wasn't willing to spend the money on. There was also this awesome mirror that would look fantastic on the accent wall in the living room, but, again, I wasn't willing to spend what they were asking. At Target, I found some school supplies, but that was about it. So the hunt for pots is still going.

We got home and brought the rubber plant in first. Tonks went and smelled a leaf and was good. The rubber plant is not too intimidating to her. Kitty didn't find the rubber plant to be at all intriguing so did not bother to move from her spot on the couch. Then, we brought in the cat palm, which is already between 3 and 4 feet tall and moves a lot. Tonks was definitely scared of it. Kitty, however, recognized a good thing when she saw it and immediately went to taste it. We shooed her away from eating it. Eventually Tonks got brave enough to check out this awesome thing that was moving gently with fun string like projections. She realized that it was actually a pretty cool toy. Now, Kitty came to check it out. They both played with some of the leaves that were moving around, until Kitty again tried to eat it. Now they are both sitting, lovingly watch it sway in the air created by the fan.

I hope we can keep them alive!

Thanks and Gig 'Em!

Penne with Asparagus, Spinach and Bacon

Howdy from Jaclyn in Aggieland!

Tonight we had Penne with Asparagus, Spinach, and Bacon for dinner. It was really good and really pretty easy to make. Hopefully we don't forget about it!

I am struggling getting into a good sleep habit which is kind of messing with how good of a job I am doing on accomplishing my goals. I am trying to not nap, because naps for me turn into falling into a deep sleep for 4-6 hours which means that at midnight, I am wide awake. But because I didn't nap, I am ready for bed right now (at 8:01pm).  I have also found that I am having a hard time getting comfortable at night. I get super itchy, or my shoulder hurts, or my hand falls asleep, or I am too hot, or too cold, or there is too much light, or too much noise, or not enough noise... It is really frustrating.

Now, for something not so negative. I finished reading A Dance with Dragons last night. Maybe that isn't "not negative" now that I think about it since I spent most of last night frustrated with what is going on. However, that means I get a break from A Song of Fire and Ice. I don't know about anyone else, but I am so grateful for breaks between books with this series. I normally am ready to read the next book. I love to marathon read (or watch, in the case of TV) series. But I can't do it with this. I probably won't stray too far from fantasy, though, as that is my favorite to get lost in. I might not even travel far from the "medieval fantasy."

So, I can read The Fault in Our Stars. I hear I need a box of tissues to read it, though, so I might wait for a weekend that has nothing going on so I can just curl up and read and ignore the world outside my doors. I can also now read some of the books Hubba brought home from the Book Sale. I will either read Green Rider, the first in a series by Kristen Britain, or The Mists of Avalon, a stand-alone by Marrion Zimmer Bradley. I also need to order the second book in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. The first book, Hubba and I read together before bed.

So, my questions for you are:

• What is your bedtime routine? How do you help yourself fall asleep?
• What is on your reading list?

Thanks and Gig 'Em!

Creativity

Howdy from Jaclyn in Aggieland!

I wish I were more creative. I want to be able to write poetry and songs, to paint and draw, to write... and all in a way that moves people. I feel like it is all in my head, but something prevents it from coming from my brain to the paper. How do you grow creativity?

Thanks and Gig 'Em!

Jaclyn

Harry Potter Curriculum

Howdy from Jaclyn in Aggieland!

For several years now, I have been incredibly intrigued by the idea of homeschooling my future children. I get really excited when I am thinking about how and what I would teach my kids. I love Harry Potter. A lot. I recently was re-reading the series and the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, sparked so much inspiration for a one-year (maybe less, depending on just how thorough I can make it) curriculum for an 11-year old. Here are some of my thoughts on what parallels I would make.

First of all, Harry Potter begins his schooling at Hogwarts the year he turns 11. The curriculum is based on the courses Harry Potter and his classmates take, but with a more realistic twist. Some of them have more obvious parallels to real-life subjects and others are a little bit harder.

• Transfiguration: In the world of Harry Potter, Transfiguration is the science of changing objects (including animals and even yourself) into other objects. Often this is something like turning an inanimate object into an animal, but the ability to be an Animagus is based in Transfiguration. This was at first difficult for me to decide what the real-life subject would be, but after a lot of thought and consideration, I decided on mathematics. Transfiguration is described as being elegant and there is nothing more elegant than math. Also, a lot of math (especially in the middle grades) is about understanding how to "transfigure" numbers and data into alternate forms, i.e., rational numbers as decimals and fractions, data into graphical representations, etc. It is a stretch, but it is the best fit, in my humble opinion. :)
• Charms: Charms is similar to Transfiguration, but "softer." It allows for creativity and for the personality of the wizard to come through. J. K. Rowling said of Charms, "I see Charms as a slightly lighter subject than transfiguration which is very hard work. With Charms there would be a little more leeway for a little more personal creativity – transfiguration you have to get it exactly right, transfiguration is more scientific." I also had a difficult time deciding on the real-life parallel to Charms, but I felt that Art or Music was its closest counterpart.
• Potions: Potions is the science of creating potions. There is no obvious magic used in creating potions, but it is extremely difficult to create the proper end result. I thought Chemistry was the obvious choice for Potions. Not only does Chemistry involve the interactions of atoms and the making of substances, but it also requires a lot of care and precision.
• History of Magic: This is your typical history course, but focuses on magical beings and events. Thus, this will be a typical history course with a focus on the contemporary world.
• Defense Against the Dark Arts: This course is all about protecting yourself from dark magic and evil wizards. To me, it feels like the most physical of the classes at Hogwarts, so I envision it more as a Physical Education course. (Although Dolores Umbridge turned it into a dull reading-based course. What did she even do besides be a horrible horrible toad?) This will be a physical education "course." Maybe sign them up for martial arts? Especially a branch that focuses on discipline and using what they learn only for defensive reasons.
• Astronomy: Astronomy is Astronomy. Harry Potter and his classmates learned about the names of major stars, constellations, and planets, as well as their movements and environments. The class was done Wednesdays at midnight. Exactly what I would do. Sounds fabulous and fun.
• Herbology: Herbology is the study of magical and mundane plants and fungi. My idea here is that the kids will help in the garden, growing fruit, veggies, and herbs that will be used in the home, just like the plants and fungi Harry Potter and friends worked with were used in potions and other items at Hogwarts.
• Flying: At Hogwarts, all first year students learned how to fly on a broom. I have no idea what parallel I can make with a real-life course. No clue...

Classes that need to be addressed:

• English and Language Arts: Reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and completing some kind of project on it would be a part of the curriculum, but it would not be sufficient. My idea (right now) is that the kids would write a play based on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone or some other creative activity that would demonstrate the year-long, curriculum-wide learning. However, I also want to incorporate reading and writing poetry, nonfiction, drama, and other fiction. What I really want to happen is that Harry Potter will be our bedtime read which will be read aloud by the kids, myself, and maybe Hubba, if we can prod him into it. However, that leaves open the "problem" of integrating ELA into the curriculum since that was not a course for Harry.

So, what do you think?

Thanks and Gig 'Em!

A Clean Bathroom and French Bread Pizza

Howdy from Jaclyn in Aggieland!

Yesterday, we went to root on the Aggie Men's Tennis team in the second round of the NCAA Championship Tournament. Unfortunately, we lost, but we put up one hell of a fight. Most people thought the day was done shortly into the Men's Singles, but some impressive comeback play had us with a chance through the last set of the last match. It was a very hot and humid day with little wind, so the climate impacted everyone there. We had plans to make it to the grocery store yesterday, but after being out for four hours, we were pretty exhausted. Hubba made it to the store this afternoon, though. So Meal #1 of the week is French Bread Pizza! This is a super easy, super fast, and super flexible meal. Here is what I did:

I cut the loaf in half because there is only two of us and I can use the other half for some other meal later this week or lunch or something. I then split one of the halves in half like a hot dog bun. On each cut side, I basted the bread with melted butter and sprinkled the sides with Italian seasoning and a little garlic powder. I then toasted it. I like to do this otherwise the bread stays a little too soft for my personal preferences. After the bread was toasted a little, I pulled it out of the oven and put some tomato and basil sauce on each piece. We made a margherita style pizza, so I then put some slices of tomato and mozzarella cheese on. If I had thought about it, I would have also added at least one other kind of cheese since mozzarella by itself can sometimes turn into a plastic consistency. Pop it back in the oven for about 10 minutes. Once the cheese is melted and slightly brown (you have to watch it!), I sprinkled some roughly chopped up basil on top and dinner was ready! You can do all kinds of fun stuff with this. Set up a toppings bar and let each person make their own pizza. I remember my mom doing that when I was a kid and it was always fun to decide what i wanted on my pizza. What would you put on your personal French bread pizza?

My cleaning project of the day was to scrub the bathroom from top to bottom. I started by wiping all surfaces I could reach, including walls, windows, mirrors, etc, with warm soapy water and then wiping again with clean water. I then cleaned the window and mirror with glass cleaner, the outside of the sink and toilet with Scrubbing Bubbles, scrubbed the inside of the sink, toilet and tub with Ajax, and mopped the floor twice: once with a vinegar and water solution and once with pine sol. Our home is an older house so there are often mysterious smells. Hopefully this will get rid of them, at least temporarily. I also washed the shower curtain and replaced the lining as well as washed all of the towels. I put some finishing touches on it to try to bring it all back together and lit a candle.

Also, I need a schedule to follow. So today, I came up with one that will work through the summer. If you want to help me with accountability, you can send me a text or give me a call to encourage me to go work out and you will know when I think I should be going.


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6:30am-7:00am	Get Ready
7:00am-8:30am	Bible Study/Devotional
8:30am-9:00am	Drive Time
9:00am-10:00am	Work at Office
10:00am-11:35am	Class
11:35am-12:30pm	Office Hours
12:30pm-1:30pm	Lunch
1:30pm-2:00pm	Drive Time
2:00pm-3:30pm	Work Out
3:30pm-4:00pm	Drive Time
4:00pm-4:30pm	Shower
4:30pm-5:00pm	Make Dinner
5:00pm-6:30pm	Dinner
6:30pm-7:00pm	Clean up Kitchen
7:30pm-8:00pm	30 minutes of cleaning
8:00pm-10:00pm	Relax, Read, Physics, Etc
10:00pm-6:30am	Sleep

The Mother's Day Posting

Howdy from Jaclyn in Aggieland!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to the mommas whose babies have grown up and left home. Who maybe have their own babies. Or even their babies have babies.

Happy Mother's Day to the first time momma who has realized just how much you can love a being.

Happy Mother's Day to mother-in-laws and mothers by marriage. I was blessed to marry into amazing one.

Happy Mother's Day to the momma's who are just glad they survived the week without killing their kiddo.

Happy Mother's Day to the momma's who have lost their baby. Whatever the tragedy that took that life away, I wrap my arms around you.

Happy Mother's Day to the mommas whose babies came to them through adoption. You are blessed.

Happy Mother's Day to the mommas in spirit. The teachers who love their students as if they were their own. The mentors who love on their cadets. The aunts who light up around their nieces and nephews.

Happy Mother's Day to those of us desperately waiting our turn. I lift us up in prayer that one day we will hold a child of our own. That we will be able to lay our little one down to sleep. That we can enjoy the day to day pleasures and horrors of motherhood. To those of us whose desire of motherhood never came to fulfillment, I grieve with you.

I have been blessed to have a wonderful mother. She always put our needs above her own. She taught me how to cook. She is silly and weird. She is my best friend. Her home is always home for me. I know that when life has me bogged down, I can take a trip home and be refreshed by mom's cooking, by sitting on the deck with her and reading, or by drinking a glass of wine. I love you, momma.

Me, Grandma, and Mom

K, My Mother-in-Law, and Hubba

Me, my new friend, my best friend, and her little stinker. :)

My sister, mom, grandma, and nephew

Thanks and Gig 'Em!

Cleaning List for the Week

 Howdy from Jaclyn in Aggieland!

This week is the official start to my summer. I finished entering grades this evening. I still have a lot of work to do to get ready for summer school, but I am going to take this opportunity to try to get in some cleaning beyond just pick up the clutter, take out the trash, and sweep the floors. My goals for this week are:

• Air Conditioners: We have window units. I am going to clean all four of them. Soak the filters in a water and vinegar solution and let them dry. Vacuum the coils. Wipe down the exterior panel and control panel with disinfectant wipes
• Baseboards: Ugh... Not looking forward to the bending down aspect, but they need it! I read that if you wipe them with a fabric softener sheet, that it will repel dust. 
• Blinds: Another frustrating job, but someone's gotta do it. Going to try the dryer sheet here too... And using cotton gloves with a water and vinegar solution...
• Floors: We have all hardwood floors. They definitely need a good sweeping and dry dusting. After that, I will use whatever that product is that our landlords have approved for cleaning the floors.
• Furniture: Vacuum off the couch, chair and boxes. Spray with a water and vinegar solution. Force open the windows to let everything have a good airing out.
• Lampshades: Use a lint roller on them and use some kind of blowing device to blow out the crevices.
• Pillows: Wash them and hope they don't bunch.

Here is a picture of a sassy Tonks who missed me so much!

And here is a picture of Kitty who doesn't understand that you are supposed to hold your pose. She would be cute and then immediately move.... Little stinker...

I did not work at all today. I did not do any intellectual pursuits. I have not read from my Bible or from HTRTBFAIW yet, but I will at least read from my Bible before bed. I did not exercise. I did not deliberately choose my meals for the day, but I did plan out meals for the next four days. I did not take my multivitamins or drink enough water. I did do one load of laundry and cleaned for 30 minutes. We ate out for dinner. I paid bills. And watched several episodes of House.

Thoughts on cleaning house?

Thanks and Gig 'Em!

Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center

Howdy from Jaclyn in Aggieland! (Reporting today from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)

Today, my mom, grandmother, Hubba and I went to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in South Austin. This is me with Hubba and grandma in front of the water lily pond at the front of the center.

We started by hiking a trail that was actually outside of the center. It was hot and muggy. We could see rain clouds not too far away but there wasn't a hint of a breeze. We also felt like everything we saw on the trail we could have seen in Mom's backyard. But it was still pretty. :)

Above is a picture of typical Texas Prickly Pear Cacti and Indian Blankets that we saw in abundance on our hike. We also found a research plot that seemed to be researching garden roofs and tall grasses, a sinkhole, a few different varieties of sage, and a couple of Indian Paintbrushes and Bluebonnets that seemed to be clinging on. Most of the Bluebonnets had gone to seed.

When we made our way back to the center, we looked at the different gardens. Here are some of my favorite garden photos:

 Water Lily

 

 California Poppy

Zotol

We also found the Family Garden that had several fun things for us to do!

Bobcat!

Man-made Waterfall with "Hidden Nook"

Me, Grandma, and Mom in a Giant Bird's Nest

We ended our time at the Wildflower Center at the top of the Stonework Tower and looked around in the store. Hubba had been tracking our activity while at the center. We walked just over 2 miles. I will count that as my exercise for the day. :) 

View from the Top

When we left the Wildflower Center, we headed to the original Salt Lick BBQ. It was really delicious! I got the combo plate with brisket and sausage, beans, potato salad, and cole slaw. Soo good.

On the way to Salt Lick, we found Wizard Academy. I have tried to find information about it, but their web page does not have very much information. What is this?

I also worked through a few more pages of notes for the class I am teaching this summer, read another chapter in Luke and in HTRTBFAIW. I took my multivitamins. I drank more water than yesterday, but still need to get another glass or two in before bedtime. I also might pick up the physics textbook tonight and play with that. 

Tomorrow, Grandma flies north and we drive back to Aggieland. We might make it back in time to watch the Aggie Men's Tennis Team play in the first round of the NCAA tournament(?). Monday, Hubba starts his 3-week racketball court while I get to relax.

What do you have going on this weekend?

Thanks and Gig 'Em!

Accomplishments of the Day

Howdy from Jaclyn in Aggieland!

I am actually out at Mom's tonight, so more like, "Howdy from Cynjara!" I had a very full day today and feel like I did a pretty decent job at following through on most of my goals today.

One bittersweet moment from the day: I got an email from one of my students who was regularly in my office the second half of the semester (as in, the student was there almost every time that I was available to students). This student did not get the necessary grade for their degree plan and they were very disappointed and were beating themselves up about it. This is a student that I know well because I saw him and worked with him almost every day for the last several weeks. I sent him the following response:

Please don’t be so hard on yourself. I am proud of the fact that you started making changes in how you studied. You might not have seen the results on your exams, but you were making progress. This is a minor set back in the grand scheme of things. You will come back from this better and stronger. I believe in you and your abilities. I am still proud of you. You did not fail my course, you just didn’t meet the requirements for your degree plan. You have learned a lot this semester about how to study, how to learn, how to take exams. Now you can use those lessons to rock the class the next time you take it.

I am always in your corner.

The student's response was lovely:

 And this is why I am grateful for choosing you as my prof! Thank you again.

 I honestly hate this time of the semester. No matter how hard I work, someone is going to be disappointed. I am going to get emails from students who think that their circumstances warrant special treatment. Who think that a 66 is a borderline grade. And many other soul-sucking, discouraging, broken moments. But then there are students who see how hard you fight for them. That know that you really are rooting for them and want only the best for them. Students who, even though they are disappointed in the final result, trust you enough to take your class again. Students who refresh your soul, encourage you in your mission, and are a salve on those bruises incurred by others.

Thanks and Gig 'Em!




For my own personal record and for those who might be following along, here are my accomplishments of the day:

• I woke up a little after 8am. I did not HAVE to wake up, so I count this as an accomplishment.
• I read the introductory chapter to How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Already finding some challenges that honestly kind of intimidate me. My complete lack of expertise in Biblical languages and the history of the Middle East being most intimidating. I really need a good Bible dictionary.
• I read Luke 1. I kind of somewhat randomly chose to start with Luke. I was trying to practice separating feeling from the reading of the text and focus on the technical aspects of what I was reading. However, Zechariah and Elizabeth's initial challenges hit too close to home for me to separate my desires and subsequent feelings from the story. I ended up reading Luke 1 multiple times today in multiple translations.
•  I did a load of laundry! Actually, I finished a load that was already in the washer and did another load.
• I graded 9 of the 15 work out problems on the Honors Final Exam.
• I picked up clutter in the living room and on the stairs. I started doing the same in the bedroom. I folded laundry.
• I went to lunch with Hubba and his co-workers to celebrate his 3 year anniversary there.
• I took my multivitamins!
• We packed up clothes and essentials and headed to Mom's. Grandma is here and it is the perfect time for me to get away from Aggieland. Despite me sternly telling students that there was nothing more that can be done about their grades and to not email me about their grades, I have had SO MANY email me. It is convenient to say, "Sorry! I am out of town! I am happy to talk to you in the fall, though! Have a great summer!"
• I finished grading the Honors Final Exams. Now I just need to decide what to do, but I really already know. I just know a few of them are going to be disappointed and it makes me sad.
• I worked through half of the Exam I notes for Business Calculus. I still don't like my exponential functions notes.
• I worked on this post!

Non-Accomplishments:

• Did not drink enough water today. 
• No exercise. (When was there time!) No deliberate food choices.
• Didn't work on any of my 166 materials, but I did a lot of other work.
• Didn't look at Physics or Cal II. (Again, I think I did enough intellectual work today, though.)
• Didn't cook at home, because I am not at home. Mom made beef stew. It was amazing. She also made banana pudding. Also, amazing.

Summertime

Howdy From Jaclyn in Aggieland!

Another academic year has finished. The majority of the students have made the exodus out of town, while families of the degree candidates are starting to come in. We instructors are just trying to make it through grading final exams, meeting with panicked students, nervously entering grades into the system and hoping that we don't get flooded with emails from students asking if there is anything to be done about their grades. In a few days, Aggieland will be quiet. Summertime in a college town.

I will be teaching business calculus during Summer I. Despite the fact that this class was my foot in the door to the job that I love, I have not yet felt fully satisfied in the job I have done each time I have taught calculus. When I teach finite math, I feel like I do a good job making the material interesting and relevant. I do a good job of making math fun. I haven't found my method for teaching calculus that does the same thing. I am working very hard right now trying to make my materials for business calculus accessible to the non-math-major. I am debating different methods to teaching. Should I try to include activities or use that time to cover more examples? What if I gave them all of the activities at the beginning of the session and asked them to turn them in at the end? What about quizzes? Should I have them every day? Should I not have quizzes at all? When should homework be due? The evening before each exam? Or every couple of days? I realized that I don't like the way my notes on Exponential Functions are currently done. How can I improve them to make base e make sense to students? How am I going to cover all of this material in 5 weeks? I have done it before. I know I have. How did I do that? This is what is going to be taking up my time between now and Memorial Day. On June 2, Summer I starts and it will be too late and too chaotic to make any changes. At that point, we will be running the 400m race. A long sprint to July 7.

Summer II will be the first time in several years that I will not be working. I have some anxiety about this, but at the same time, I am very excited to have a break. My schedule is already starting to fill up. My mother-in-law and youngest sister-in-law are coming to Texas. There are plans in the works for a trip to Louisiana to see my other sister-in-law, her husband, and our niece and nephew. There is talk about a family reunion late this summer. Our neighbors are moving and will have a newborn baby, so I will be helping them however I can. I also have plans for lots of reading and cooking - two things I haven't made time to do in the last few years. I am excited for this time of recharging for the new year and all that it will entail.

It is shaping up to be a busy summer, but I have made a list of goals. If you have read this far, then I would venture that you care enough about me to hold me accountable to these goals:

• Work Goals: My job is very important to me and I want to continue to improve myself in not just teaching ability but also contributions to the department and the university.
•  Course Coordinator: I want to create some basic teaching materials for instructors and graduate students teaching Math 166 for the first time. It is hard knowing exactly what to cover and where to start in building course materials. I also want to create expectations and guidelines for Math 166, such as guidelines for using graders, submitting drafts of exams to the coordinator early enough for review and to allow the coordinator to offer suggestions, the necessity of providing exam statistics and exam keys, and other issues that may come up in the course of the semester.
• Teaching: I got a lot of very good feedback from my honors section. The area that needs most improvement are my labs. I didn't do a very good job of making the connection of the lab to what we were doing in class. On the other hand, they really enjoyed the research paper and presentation we did at the end of the semester and the labs that involved real-life applications, like financing a house and car. I want to overhaul my labs to make them more practical, that makes them get out in the real world and use math.
• Intellectual Goals: I am finally far enough out of school that my brain is ready to learn. There are a lot of classes I didn't take in college. There are also a lot of things I have learned that I need to refresh on because I haven't used it in so long. A big motivating factor for the subjects I picked to focus on this summer are that they are very common courses for my cadets to take and I want to be as useful to them as possible. With that said, I want to learn:
• Physics! I won the Physics Award in high school and then never took physics in college. Also kind of strange that a math major didn't take physics in college. Time to remedy the situation.
• Refresh Calculus II - Towards the end of this semester, I got to relearn some series materials and volumes. It was fun seeing how quickly it came back. However, it is not very efficient for my cadets to come to my office for help and have to wait several minutes for me to reteach myself before I can help them.
• Spiritual Goals: I want God to be my highest priority. I love Jesus. However, I am terrible at putting him first in my life. I often don't even know where to begin! This summer, my goals are:
• To study How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Our church uses this book in one of the classes they offer on Tuesday nights that I can't ever go to. I want to read it and apply what I learn to reading the Bible. I hope it will help me dig deeper.
• Have daily devotional: Always sounds so simple, but something I have always failed at. Pray for fortitude to follow through and that God will meet with me during those times and fill my heart with a desire for Him.
• Attend homegroup whenever we are in town. I love my homegroup. Why am I not going? Why is it so hard to set aside work, exhaustion, and my introversion to go to something that I know will minister to me and give me energy. 
• Physical Goals:
• Lose 16-32 pounds. I normally am all about "it's not the number on the scale that matters." However, something needs to change and that is a quantifiable measure of how well I am doing. This is going to maybe be one of the biggest challenges for me this summer. My body is stubborn. It is resistant to losing weight. (There are medical reasons for this that I may go into in a future post.) I am going to have to be very deliberate in working out daily: cardio and strength training. I am going to have to be very deliberate in meal planning. I am going to need a lot of support and encouragement in this area. A lot.
• Take multivitamins daily. Seems simple enough.
• Drink more water. I think I walk around in a constant state of dehydration. That probably doesn't help to convince my stubborn body to play along. I bought water bottles. Now I just need to use them. Two to three of my Academy bottles of water every day. 
• Home:
• 30 minutes of cleaning a day: I am tired of feeling like a bad wife. (My own thoughts, not my husband's.) I can do a lot in 30 minutes and that isn't too long. It's one episode of a TV show.
• 1 load of laundry a day: I don't want the laundry to pile up so that Saturday is lost to the mountain of laundry.
• Make dinner at home at least 4 nights a week. We eat out a lot. Our food budget is completely out of control. It is probably the number one way we are not being good stewards of the physical blessings God has given us.

I really need people to hold me accountable. If you feel like you can check up on me on one or two of these, I would appreciate it. An easy way to maybe help me be accountable is to ask for updates. Maybe it will help me get into blogging if I am sharing what I am doing and how I am doing on my goals.

What plans do you have for the summer? Do you have any summer goals? What do you think about my goals?

Thanks and  gig 'em!