Very full week on the horizon

I've told you before that I love my job.  That fact has not changed.  I have no doubt that I have the best job for me.  I've also told you before that there are two categories into which you could divide my current job responsibilities.  I have some tasks that are "meet and greet" and others that are "read and study."  I've done as much of the "meet and greet" as possible without showing up at schools unannounced.  Summer is a busy time for school districts.  The hours are not always consistent from day to day and the administrators I need to visit with are often working on tasks that can only happen during the summer, such as replacing carpet, new construction or renovations.  Finding and meeting with all twenty-two of the superintendents in my area has been a difficult task that I haven't totally completed.

The second part of my job is more fluid.  There isn't an end to "read and study."  There are always more resources to read and references to consult.  I swelled with pride this week when in one of the texts I was studying, a former professor was mentioned as a reference.  I was so incredibly well-trained by Oklahoma State.  I'm proud to be an alum of such a research based program.  Next week I will be in full "read and study" mode.  I leave tomorrow to go to Oklahoma City for the week to participate in orientation and training.  All of my meetings will be held here...

Yes, that's right, next week I'm working at the capitol.  All of my meals will be served there and all of my meetings will be held there.  I'm slated to spend time on the House Floor and the Governor's Blue Room.  My speakers will not only be outside trainers for commercial companies, but also the Assistant State Superintendents, Deputy State Superintendent, OSDE Chief of Staff and the State Superintendent.  I will be trained by and listening to some of the most influential people in the state regarding education.  I am honored to be among their company.  I am one of a team of sixty.  I know that my team as well as those who work in our state administration are excited for the possibilities and impact of our new program.  While the actual day to day responsibilities are still taking shape and I'm still getting acquainted with my region, I am excited about what this year will bring.

I have to be in OKC tomorrow evening between five and eight.  I'll be able to get a good night's rest before my week of intense study begins.  With start times ranging from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. and an end time around 4:30 p.m. those five days are going to be packed with information.  At times it feels as though my brain is on information overload.  I haven't totally found ways to assimilate new learning into my brain, so I'm a little off balance right now.  That's not a terrible thing, really.  Being off balance means I'm learning, so that's good!  The off balance part is a little frustrating though.  I'm ready to find my equilibrium again, but that's not going to happen for a while.

The task ahead of me is a huge one, but I'm ready to take it on.  The road ahead of me isn't smooth, but I'll approach it prayerfully.  I learn new and more names every day.  I'm usually good with names but my memory is being seriously tested right now!  Between church members, office staff, school personnel, my team of sixty, the administrators at the state, my neighbors and everyone else, I may have to start studying names along with standards!  I'll find my feet and learn all that I need to learn, it's just going to take time.  I'm looking forward to spending time with my amazing new team.  I'm excited for the week ahead!

God's Timing

If you've read my facebook posts, you may have seen my post on Sunday mentioning that I am in awe of God's perfect timing. I don't begin to pretend that I know enough about God and His nature to fully understand His timing. What I do know is that the events of my life in the last few months would not have been possible without His mighty hand covering, holding and at times carrying me along.

I grew up being very involved in church. I was raised in the Church of Christ and until a few years ago was a very involved member of congregations around me. That changed a few years ago. When I moved from Tulsa to Stillwater in 2004 I began attending the Church of Christ there. It wasn't a terribly comfortable fit for me, but it was pretty well the only Church of Christ in town. I attended faithfully for several months and placed membership, in hopes that I could find my place in that body of believers. There was not a Bible class for me to attend. It was either the college class or the young families class. Neither was a group where I felt comfortable or accepted, but I kept trying. I was then told about a congregation in Edmond that had a large young professionals population. I began driving to Edmond on Sundays and Wednesdays so that I could connect with Christians that were my age and in my station in life. I did that for several months until fuel prices got too high for me to be able to afford multiple trips each week. At that time I returned to the Church of Christ in Stillwater.

Aside from not feeling terribly comfortable there, I had heard various comments that were hurtful. When people found out I was single (and in my late twenties) the response was everything from an apology for what they perceived as an unfulfilled life or accusatory that I had done something that would cause God to not allow me to have a spouse. Either response was hurtful, both were very common. In my return to that church I filled out a membership card as I had always done in the past. No one had called me in my time away to ask what was going on, or why I had left. I didn't have a close enough relationship with anyone to tell them why I was gone. After my second week back I received a phone call from an elder's wife. She told me that she had seen my card and that in order for me to be allowed to return I would need to make a confession. I had nothing to confess and I was furious at the accusation. She made it very clear, in no uncertain terms, that I would not be welcomed as a member of the congregation until I had made a full confession. That was the last time I attended a Church of Christ on my own. I did not offer any explanation to her about my absence or reasoning. I simply told her I had nothing to say and ended the conversation. I have not returned to a Church of Christ since.

I began attending a Christian church with a friend shortly after that debacle and attended off and on there for the last few years. That congregation has approximately 1,100 members. I was a number. I went sporadically, but wasn't faithful about attendance. I developed a habit of coming in and leaving without speaking to anyone. No one talked to me or introduced themselves to me when I stuck around to give them the opportunity, so I stopped giving them the opportunity. To be fair, I am not at all assertive when it comes to introducing myself to people, so some of the fault was mine.

When I started my personal journey to turn things upside down and change my life in dramatic ways, one of my goals was to find a church, wherever I landed, that fit my beliefs and where I could be an active member. When I found out that I would be moving to Enid the first thing I did was a web search. I knew I wanted to get back to my Church of Christ roots, so that's where I started. I read their websites and bulletins and listened to sermons. I chose to contact North Garland Church of Christ before moving so that I could make a connection.

For the last three weeks I've attended services at North Garland and heard exactly the things I needed to hear. The lessons feel as though they are tailored to me and my circumstance. That's what I mean by being in awe of God's timing. It really hit me Sunday night as the preacher was finishing up the lesson. Again, it was one that I needed to hear and that had personal application to my life. I haven't been to church on a Sunday night in probably close to ten years. What I can only assume is God's guiding hand coaxed me to attend that evening. I followed that up with attending Bible class tonight and had the same experience. That feeling that I was in the right place at the right time and heard the right message was overwhelming.

Tonight's class was a discussion about God's love. There were two statements made by members of the class that have stuck with me and go handily with my approach to life as a journey. One is that love is "a recognition and reflection of the nature of God in His creation." Recognizing the nature of God in ourselves and in others is reflected in our love. The second is that loving is a journey. It's a process. Love matures and changes over time. There is not an end to love. It is not a skill that you learn, it is a journey in which you participate.

The only thing I would have added to the conversation this evening is that God's love is healing. Allowing Him to embrace me and embracing Him in return has a healing power not found anywhere else. My journey to be a better me, includes a spiritual journey. I am compelled to be an active participant in God's love, to allow His healing power to work in me and His guiding hand to lead me. God's love is just another part of my journey.

Bringing Background to the Front

For a long time teachers have known that the background knowledge of students plays a significant role in their learning experience.  State learning standards have not always accommodated this fact, but that is changing.  

Teaching reading comprehension is one of the most difficult tasks teachers are faced with in their day and one of the reasons for that is the varied background knowledge of their students.  What experiences readers bring to the text directly impacts the ease with which they will read that text.  If I've had a lot of experience with flying, for example, then reading a text that includes words such as jet way, runway, taxi, altitude and flight attendant will be easier for me.  I have a context in which to place those words and can better understand the author's message.  For someone who has never flown or been around planes, the understanding may not come as easily.  Words will have to be looked up in a dictionary perhaps, and in some cases, like the words taxi or runway, the reader will have to have a deep enough understanding about vocabulary to know those words have multiple meanings.  Consider what you read, versus what someone in a different profession reads.  If I were asked to read a book on chemical engineering it would take a lot more time and mental capacity for me to understand the text than if you give me a book on educational practice.  Both would contain material that is new to me, but one would be easier to file than the other.

This process relies a learning theory called Schema Theory.  Every time you learn something, your brain attempts to file that learning in a place where it can be retrieved.  If you have an existing file for the information it is much easier to place learning than if you have to create a brand new file.  In addition, new learning may easily be connected to old learning even if it isn't filed in the exact same place.  For example, say I worked in a garage and had extensive knowledge about repairing engines.  One day someone comes in with a foreign model I've not worked on before.  I may be able to retrieve some basics from my brain about repairs, but there are nuances to the model that make it different.  I would have to create a new file (or schemata) for the differences, but it is closely connected to what I already know, so the cognitive demands are still relatively minimal.

As teachers, we are tasked with helping students build connections between schemata (or files) and to create new ones.  Since we cannot feasibly create enough life experiences to accomplish this, we rely on text.  We read about the far off places that we cannot visit, or the animals we can't bring to school or the science experiment that we can't conduct.  Whether or not the text that we choose is difficult for students to understand is related to their existing schema.  Some texts are more easily understood by some students than others.

This background knowledge piece is at the root of those differences.  It is not all of it, but it is a portion.  In years past, this piece has not been acknowledged in our written standards.  The bar was set and all students were expected to meet it, regardless of the knowledge they bring to the table.  Our new standards however, are taking this into account by re-defining text complexity.  How complicated a text is, depends on a variety of things, but one of those things included is background knowledge.  It is intangible and virtually impossible to measure, but it is now getting the recognition it deserves.  The background has moved to the front.

Teachers will continue to be asked to create experiences and read texts that will build and connect schemata, but the tools they now have to accomplish this task have greatly increased.  One of my primary job responsibilities is to help teachers make the transition from PASS (our state standards) to Common Core.  This transition is not being done just in Oklahoma but in over forty states around the nation.  There are some significant changes and I, as a literacy specialist, am thrilled to see the direction that we are going.  For those that got into education to help students build schemata and integrate learning, these standards will guide you in that direction.  It will be hard work, but the end result will be what we as educators got into this profession to do.  We're bringing the background to the front and marching forward empowered by our passion to teach.

Adventures around every corner

This sign is very similar to the ones on the street that leads you into my neighborhood.  I do live in a neighborhood, granted I'm on the edge of my neighborhood, but I am in town, in a housing edition.  When I first saw these signs I wasn't sure what they meant.  It seemed funny to me that there were these signs with pictures of turkeys around my area.  I pass at least one every day and depending on my route may see two or three of these.  Today I discovered the reason for these signs.

I was headed to work a little after 7:00 this morning when I noticed that there were some animals grazing on the side of the road.  I was staring out my drivers' side window trying to figure out what kind of animal it was.  It kind of looked like a goose a first, but was too dark in color and too large to be a goose.  It took me being almost on top of it to realize it was a turkey!  About the time it registered as to what it was I look up and have to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting the three turkeys that were crossing the road in front of me.  I laughed and called my dad to tell him that I'd figured out what the signs meant!

I'd never seen a wild turkey before and that certainly didn't look like a Butterball!  Its feathers weren't spread out so I didn't recognize the classic turkey coloring page seen around Thanksgiving.  I don't remember seeing a waddle but that very well could be because I was shocked to even see a turkey that remembering details wasn't my goal.  It was a very surprising and funny experience.  Who needs coffee?  Slamming on your brakes for turkeys has the same awakening effect!

Shortly after this fabulous feathered find, my partner Carri and I hit the road again.  We had four more districts on our list today and with it came lunch in another local restaurant.  This place was hopping!  It was definitely a local favorite.  Today's lunch was at "Greazy Steve's" in Pond Creek, OK.  I had to weigh-in tonight so I had to make good choices throughout the day.  I selected the grilled chicken sandwich, and then ended up not eating the bun.  The meat however was fantastic!!  The flavors of marinade and grill hit the spot!  Much like yesterday our working lunch made for several interested onlookers.  Kind of makes you a little nervous being watched like that.  We ended up making an early exit and hanging out in my car to kill some time.

I finished my adventurous day with news that I'd lost 4.6 pounds.  Every day is a new day and a new adventure.  Today's adventures just happened to include some new feathered friends.

I love my job!

I absolutely, positively love my job!  It combines my love of teaching, learning, reading and traveling into daily adventures that are enjoyable for me.  My month of July is very flexible.  We were given a "To Do" list in June and told that the items on that list needed to be completed, and it was just up to us to manage our time to get them done.  Several of the items on the list fall under the "read and study" category.  No hardship for me!  I love to read...including professional material...and learning about what is up and coming in education is very interesting for me.  The other items fall under what I would call the "meet and greet" category.

Last week my partner and I spent one morning calling the districts assigned to us to set up meetings with our superintendents.  Between the two of us we have twenty three districts in six different counties in northern and northwestern Oklahoma.  We don't have all of the districts in all of those counties, but pretty close.  We have all of Garfield and Alfalfa counties and portions of Major, Grant, Kay and Noble counties.  Our districts are as far west as Fairview and as far east as Newkirk.  Our farthest point south is Waukomis and our farthest point north is Braman.  My partner and I have divided up the districts as far as who will be their primary coach, but both of us will be familiar with all of the districts and available to them if needed.

Today was our first day on the road and I loved it!  We drove through the western section of our region, visiting Ringwood, Aline, Cherokee, Burlington and Helena.  I felt the same relaxation and excitement that I did when I set off on my road trip back in March.  We only had about thirty minutes between locations, with the exception of our last leg back into Enid.  At each stop we met secretaries, superintendents and principals that we will be working with this year.  We scheduled professional development presentations and began getting a feel for the strengths and needs of our districts.  In the car we were able to brainstorm ideas about our upcoming presentations and work on our plans for the next few weeks.

We stopped in Cherokee for lunch today and both agreed that the best place to eat when you're in small towns is a local diner or cafe.  We found just such a place in downtown Cherokee called The Fat Hen Cafe. I'm pretty sure we turned the heads of everyone in there when we came in with our bags, binders, notepads and calendars intending to stay for a while.  I refrained from ordering the cheeseburger...although I'm sure it was very tasty.  In keeping with my weight loss efforts I had a salad.  When we left however, my partner was convinced that we probably smelled like cheeseburgers.  Like a true diner, the fragrance of grilled meat hung heavily in the air.  The fear that the smell clung to our clothes was a valid one.

That concern (knowing we had meetings all afternoon) prompted my creation for this evening.  We need a road trip kit!  We decided there were some must have's for spending most of the day in the car going from town to town.  Some of the must have's that made the list....hand sanitizer, back up make up, perfume (or Febreze...so we don't smell like a cheeseburger), gum, GPS and some basic office supplies.  If you've followed me on facebook you know I have the writing implements handled!

Here's what I came up with...

I'm sure I've included a couple of things we won't use, I know there are things that I forgot and we're each responsible for our own make-up, but here's a start to my mobile office.  Can't wait to get back on the road tomorrow!

Another room done

In my time home this summer I've become hooked on the Nate Berkus show.  He has great ideas that are affordable and I often say...I can do that...when I'm watching.  I'm sure the shows I'm seeing are re-runs, but I didn't see them at the original air time, so they're new to me.  On today's show there was a guest who had recently moved.  They were working on re-doing her bedroom because she said when she moved into that apartment her priorities were the kitchen and bathroom.  My priorities have been the same...kitchen and now bathroom.

This is the view as you're walking in from the hallway.  Everything in here is black, white and red.  If you've not visited me before and seen my shower curtain, it has names of cities from around the world and images of famous landmarks.  I got it from my friend Lesley a few years ago when she decided to redecorate and I love it!

This is one of my additions in this house.  I found it at Hobby Lobby.  It matches my style very well.

This is the view looking back toward the hallway.  The little red stand is another new addition...thank you Hobby Lobby.

This piece is one of the coolest additions to my home so far in my decorating efforts.  It is a flea market find!  My sister and I went to a flea market toward the south end of town and found several very cool pieces.  I didn't notice until I was looking at this picture, but the little palm tree in the middle of the iron work on the mirror, matches the palm trees on my shower curtain!

Next up....my bedroom!!

Starting with the kitchen

I would love to tell you that there is at least one room in my house that is totally done, unfortunately that's not true.  All of the rooms that I need are functional, but as I'm sure all of you know it takes time to get everything organized and decorated the way you'd like.  The room that is the closest to done is the kitchen so I thought I'd start there with pictures.

This is the view as you move from the living room into the kitchen.  It's a big kitchen with lots of cabinets.  The wonderful thing about having so many cabinets is that I didn't have to put anything on the top shelf!  I can reach everything without a step stool!!  That's exciting for a person as vertically challenged as myself.  That window looks out on my back yard.  I haven't found window treatments yet.  The counter tops and walls are green.  I have some kitchen towels that were given to me for Christmas a year or so ago that match perfectly.

This is one corner of my kitchen.  You can't really see it in this picture, but there is a built in cutting board on the counter top.  I have cutting boards that I use regularly so I've not tried the built in cutting board yet, but I imagine the opportunity will present itself.  For whatever reason the handles on the refrigerator are different but I suppose that's part of the excitement of renting.

One of the features I really like about this kitchen is the bar area where I can sit to eat.  It's a large space so I  have plenty of room if I wanted to do a buffet or if I need to space for preparing food.  I still need to get bar stools.  I've found the ones that I want, but they only had one the last time I was at the store, so I haven't bought any yet.  The paneling over the bar looks really low because on the other side are cabinets.

I started weight watchers this week so having an organized kitchen is a great thing.  I posted this next picture on facebook earlier, so you may have already seen it, but it's one of my favorite recipes so it's worth posting again!

This is Pan Fried Tilapia with sauteed green beans.  One of the reasons I've gained a lot of weight in the last couple of years is because of how much I eat out.  I've told you in earlier posts that cooking used to be a hobby of mine, but that it had become more of a chore than a joy, so I stopped.  The more I've thought about it, the more I think that I was so stressed beyond belief throughout the day that coming home to do anything that required energy felt like a chore.  That being the case I let everything go...my house was rarely clean or organized, my meals were either frozen pizza or take out and my laundry was rarely done the way that it needed to be for me to feel my best in my clothes.  I just didn't care.  

All of my life changes are geared toward reducing my stress, taking better care of myself and enjoying life.  That means that slowly but surely my house will be the clean, organized, well-decorated place where I want to be and that fewer of my meals will come from a paper bag.  The route from my office to my home does not include any drive through restaurants, it doesn't however include a grocery store.  It is really nice to live in a city that has a grocery store other than Walmart!  I don't have to fight major crowds to buy food!  Another deterrent to cooking in the last year or so.

Tonight I made Pan Fried Tilapia and sauteed green beans.  It's a fast dinner to make and it's really good. When I stopped at the store today they had just bagged fresh green beans from a local farmer (upside of living in a small town), so I picked those up to go with the fish that I had already planned.  Frying isn't the best technique for cooking, especially if you want to lose weight, but I did budget for the extra calories and figure everything before I started cooking...no harm done!

This is a Sandra Lee recipe from the Food Network if you'd like to try it...

1/4 c flour

2 tsp seafood seasoning

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 lbs tilapia fillets

2 Tbsp canola oil

2 Tbsp butter

1 tsp garlic

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp fresh parsley

**I mix everything according to the recipe, but I only use two fish fillets so that I can use the extra sauce for my vegetables.  I bought a seafood seasoning in Seattle that I really like, but I've made my own before too.  You can find a recipe through Google.  All of the herbs and spices that make up seafood seasoning are ones that I had in my cabinet, so it was easier to make my own.

Heat the oven to 300 degrees.  In a shallow baking dish, combine flour, seafood seasoning, salt and pepper. Add tilapia and lightly coat.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over med-high heat.  Brown on both sides, 2-3 minutes each.  Keep tilapia warm in the oven while preparing the sauce.  Turn the skillet to low and add butter.  When the butter is melted, add the garlic, lemon juice and parsley.  Saute for 2 minutes.  Top the fish with the sauce and serve.

**I added fresh (I've used frozen green beans that I've thawed before) green beans to the sauce while it was sauteing and cooked until heated.

I love my job, I love my house, I'm taking better care of myself and I'm finding the joy in old hobbies again.  I'm enjoying my journey!

"Focus on the journey, not the destination.  Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."

- Greg Anderson

"We are the change that we seek."

I told you a long time ago that I had discovered that I had become my own pet peeve. I was complaining about things that were within my power to change. That's a pet peeve of mine...when people complain about things that are totally within their power to change. I had become that pet peeve, complaining about a multitude of things that I could change if I put some effort into it. I told you shortly afterwards, that a lot was getting ready to change for me and a lot has. I've been empowered by the following quote from President Barack Obama...

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time.

We are the ones we've been waiting for.  We are the change we seek."

I am the change that I seek and I'm taking control of that in a new way. I have a new job. I'm living in a new city. I have a new church. I've bought new furniture. I'm changing the decorations in my house. Whether the changes are major or minor, I'm in a very different place today than I was when I began this blog. I'm still having trouble being more outgoing, but I'm working on it.

The next change that I'm going to begin making is one regarding my health. I need to lose weight. I've battled weight issues for several years. Sometimes I care about it and other times I couldn't care less. (By the way the phrase is "couldn't care less" If you could care less, it must not be a big deal!) Like most other people who battle weight issues, I've tried a variety of diets. The one that has worked best for me is weight watchers so that is what I'll go back to, hopefully this week.

The decision to make an effort to do something about my weight comes largely from some medical problems that I've begun experiencing. I've worn glasses since the fifth grade. As eye sight does, mine has gotten slightly worse as I've gotten older. Until now all of the problems I've had could be corrected with glasses. I went last week to my eye doctor in Stillwater. He's an excellent doctor and has always been very thorough with me. He handles well what he can and if I'm having a problem that he cannot address he doesn't hesitate to refer me for further evaluation.

My appointment last week was not quite what I had expected. I knew my glasses prescription wasn't working any more. I have to work to see and read; reading from a distance is very difficult. What I thought would happen is that I would go in for a routine eye exam and leave after placing an order for new glasses. Unfortunately I have a problem with my right eye that glasses cannot correct. After running several tests last Friday, I was asked to return Tuesday for additional tests. Tuesday included dilation and a field vision test. Between the two appointments I was tested for cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and a variety of other things. The results so far have shown that I have two blind spots in the field of vision of my right eye. There's one in the center near my pupil and one at the bottom left near my nose. Testing also showed that the cause of the blindness is not related to my cornea, retina or the front part of my optic nerve. Everything that my optometrist can find looks healthy. That being said, there is something causing the blind spots. My optometrist believes that it could be optic neuritis. That, like many other things, can be a diagnosis all it's own or it can be a symptom of bigger things. The next step from here for me is to see a neuro-opthalmologist for more testing. If the problem is the nerve, there may be neurological implications.

You may be wondering what my losing weight has to do with my vision issues. It is very likely that my vision issues are a symptom of bigger things. The bigger things that are possibilities both require weight loss and better physical shape as part of treatment; other than it just being more healthy for me in general. The next few weeks and months will be very telling. There will be doctor's visits and tests to hopefully get to the bottom of the blind spots. In the meantime, I'll work on my next life change.

I've never been good at change, but the more things change the more comfortable I get with it. I want to be happier and healthier and I know that's not going to happen over night. It is going to take continued work and effort on my part. It is a challenge I'm ready to face. I'll have to depend on my faith, family, friends and internal motivation to make all of the changes that I need to make, but my journey is making me a better me!