updates sometimes suck April 15, 2008

dear wordpress,

you updated your dashboard and promised it was be “easier” and “improved”. I regret to inform you that it is neither easy nor improved. i can no long post and media in my posts like i used to. i have tried to post a few times in the past week, and you would not save or publish my post. i am writing you because we are breaking up. i found a better, more user-friendly blog. that’s right, me and blogspot will be blogging together from now on. thanks for the intro to the blogging world, but in the end, you were just not enough for me. if you miss me terribly, you can find me here: http://megmwalk.blogspot.com/

Good luck keeping your other bloggers from leaving you for other blogsites.

sincerely,

megmwalk

April 14, 2008

i am currently fighting with my blog and am contemplating switching to another provider. Grrr wordpress and problems with uploading pictures…

Signs of Spring April 1, 2008

Wow, today was a BEAUTIFUL DAY! Today was also the first day of MSA testing… ahhh!!! because it was so nice out and we were all wound a little tight from testing, i “kidnapped” my co-teacher, esther, (who is AMAZING) for a little “field trip.” i grabbed two popsicles from the freezer and we both sat outside on the benches next to the blacktop to absorb some vitamin d and enjoy a laugh or two. that was fun! i decided while we were sitting outside that i was going to take my dog for an adventure when i got home.

we have a great “wildlife sanctuary”/park behind our house. a few weeks ago, when it had been warm, on a spur i took my dog through this park. it was still very much wintery, everything in the park was brown, it was muddy and slightly snowy. today was much different. here is a photo story of my adventure with jake 🙂

this blue sky let me know that today was a great day for the park!

jakey goes for a dip (and a sniff)

this might be my favorite:

follow the yellow brick green road

yay for spring!!!!!! 🙂

Adam Duritz makes me wanna…. March 31, 2008

BE A ROCK AND ROLL STAR

ok so one of my number one favorite bands of ALL time is The Counting Crows. I have LOVED them since middle school. Last Tuesday, the Crows put out their newest album that I have been listening to this past weekend,  Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings. It made me so happy because 1. i LOVE adam duritz and 2. i was relieving the AMAZING time I had at their concert this summer with sara. that got me thinking about what i want to accomplish this summer… and there are many things. there are places i want to go, bands i want to see. so in the car, i began daydreaming of some of my summertime goals. here are some things i’d like to do:

a beginning list of things i’d like to do

• become more serious about my music
• travel
• read… A LOT
• have adventures in my own neighborhood
• buy a GPS and geocache all over
• go to lots of concerts
• hang out and meet people at College Perk and Java Mammas
• take lots of pictures and learn more about my digital SLR

places i would like to spend some time in:

1. nashville, tennesee
2. boston, mass
3. san diego, cali
4. washington, d.c.
5. outerbanks, n.c.

people i would like to see in concert:

• Counting Crows (august 16th… WOOOOO!!!0
• Sara Bareilles (opening of CC… wow)
•  Jack Johnson
• Matt Nathanson
• Copeland
• Travis
• more to come

i know i will be adding to this list as summer draws closer, but i want to make a promise to myself to have fun no matter the participation of others. i just bought tickets to counting crows… i am so excited.

(is it bad that i am already daydreaming of summer and it isn’t even 4th quarter yet?)

ps this is the first week of MSAs… YIKES!!!! 🙂

here are a few more favs from the Counting Crows show with sara ❤ 

love you sar 🙂

2 good stories March 26, 2008

ok, i have a heart-warming school story and a hilarious school story. let’s start with the sweet:

ok, every week at one of our team meetings we take time to write “positive postcards.” usually each teacher writes one or two every week to kids who are doing awesome stuff. before spring break, i wrote a postcard to one of my favorite students, sarah, because her intelligence and writing ability are so far ahead of most kids in the 6th grade. not to mention that she is incredibly kind, generous, and friendly. basically, she’s a teacher’s dream.

anyway, upon returning to school, i see sarah in the hallway and she hands me a card that she made. that in itself was so sweet – i mean, let’s be honest, most 6th graders don’t do that kind of stuff out of the blue. later that day, i actually had a chance to read it and it just made my day. it is so good, that i have to share it here. the front was a pretty blue that said “to ms. walker” with a pretty design. when you open it, one side says “thank you for the thoughtful card! remember to…” the other side was what blew me away:

LOVE, eat, HOPE, LAUGH, care, enjoy,

appreciate Mr. Clifford’s jokes [he’s the veteran and always funny science teacher],

appreciate all jokes, SMILE, value every day,

wear your favorite color, be OPTIMISTIC,

tell jokes (even if only you think their [yes, wrong “they’re] funny),

read, PRAY, know how to whistle, sing in the shower (or whistle because you know how to),

eat your veggies (it’s ok to replace them with sweets sometimes), Try your best (like always),

have an awesome hobby, do this awesome hobby all the time, refuse revenge,

turn the other cheek, LOVE. ADD TO THIS LIST!

 

yeah, that came from a sixth grader. i was so blown away, i carried the card with me all day. it was a great reminder of why i love this job (sometimes i need to be reminded). thanks, sarah 🙂

 

 

ok, here’s the hilarious story:

this morning before school, one of our little sixth grade boys was standing outside. some of the eighth grade girls started messing with him, making him believe that one of the girls wanted to go out with him and be his girlfriend. he bought it and was so excited that he had an eighth grade girlfriend. this went out for about 10 minutes. right before the bell rang, the girl walked up to him and said, “preston, it’s over.” preston looked at his friends as she walked away and said “hey, it still counts.” hahaha later on, that eighth grade girl was on the tv announcements and preston exclaims “there’s my girlfriend!” all of his friends were laughing and he was too. i gave him a funny look and he said “yuh huh, ms walker, she was this morning!” hahaha ahhh middle school.

Hello Again March 24, 2008

well, hello blog world, it has been quite awhile. it feels good to be back in the blogosphere after an absence. many things have happened since then:

• my dear, sweet grandma passed away on march 12th
• i was in wisconsin for a few days for all of that stuff
• i have been on spring break
• i am behind on american idol
• i got a new camera
• two great friends, claudia and brian got engaged

so, as you can see, things have been a little crazy and spring break has not been as fun or relaxing as i had hoped. on the plus side, i have been having fun with my new camera and though it was tragic and sad to be in wisconsin, it was nice to be around family. here are some pictures from my new camera:

my sister, my brother, and me!

my cousin, jackie’s new baby, xochitl (zoh shul)

xochitl and my cousin, emma

 
sleeping xochitl and cousin, britteny

my cousin, jackie, and xochitl. yay for the new mom 🙂

i LOVE this new camera. expect to see many more pictures as i learn and play with it. more pictures from the trip to come! 🙂

matters of the heart March 10, 2008

sometimes i feel like my life falls apart because i am ill-equipped to handle stressful/tragic situations. i feel like im in one of those states right now. school is hard as i watch my sweet 6th graders turn to nasty 7th graders. one of my favorite families struggles with hardship  and illness while i feel helpless as to what to do. i love them and i just dont know how to show it. to top that off, my grandma had two heart attacks on sunday morning which almost ended her life. the situation for now, is touch and go. i lost my grandpa last spring (her husband), i just dont think i can handle losing her too. i can’t think about it too much or i get too worked up.

sometimes when life seems the most overwhelming, i like to drive. yesterday after spending some time with my favorite people (amy and hannah), i took the long, long way home through the country roads at dusk. as i was driving, i saw a man in the middle of a field, bundled up to the nines (it was cold) with an easel and art supplies. he was painting the sunset over the trees. i kicked myself as i drove away, thinking that i would have liked to stop and just watch him paint.

it amazes me how much i can lose sight of what is important and how we all have stress. we all have loads to carry. my actions – not being as cheery, feeling overwhelmed, having shorter patience – are easy to see, but the root of the problem, no one would see unless they asked. sometimes i forget this when i talk to my students or when i get mad because they don’t follow directions or don’t do their homework. i had one of those enlightening conversations today. a girl who struggled first quarter, who turned everything around second to get an A, has now plummeted back down to a failing grade. with compassion, i asked her what was going on, and she told me that it was hard to do homework because her parents fight so much. right then my heart broke for her. at that second, the girl sitting next to her spoke up about how she was in the same situation not so long ago and they talked about it right there in the middle of class. that is taking care of each other. a little piece of me wanted to cry one, out of sadness for morgan, and two, out of joy that paige would find it so easy to share a similar story with morgan. in middle school, maybe more than any other place, all kids want to do is feel comfortable and find a place, find common ground. paige did that for morgan. i’ll tuck that gem into my pocket and carry it with me this week. maybe it will help me remember compassion this week.

another gem comes from today, something i wasnt meant to hear, but overheard anyway. matthew says to louie: “you know, english class is the only place i smile all day.” im sorry, matthew, that your classes dont make you want to smile anywhere else, but im sure glad you feel comfortable and happy in our room. thanks for your enthusiasm. i’ll tuck that gem in my pocket, too.

life & ai March 6, 2008

this week i began my unit on anne frank. last year, this was by far my most favorite unit to teach. it really encompasses what all teacher dreams of – being able to teach students about life as well as content. last year i really felt like i was building citizens as well as good students. i have the same hope for this year, and already my kids have proven how much they are really processing it all. this topic provides such great discussion tools… wow, it just makes me so excited.

anyway, i had a gem today – something that just makes me smile and i can stick in my pocket to pull out when i am having a rough day. afterschool, i popped into the gt resource room to see a few kids who were working on imovies. two of them were my current students, two were former students. sam, former student, asks me, “so, how is the anne frank unit going?” i said that it was good, though we just started it this week. sam turns to john and connor (both my former students) and says “you guys are so lucky. that is the best unit you will ever do. we read great stuff, we had fun talking about it, and then we got to wear costumes. it was awesome.” wow, that just about made my day. then sam says “guess what happened today? i was in ms. richardson’s class (my colleague who teachs 7th grade english) and she was talking about being creative. then she asked us ‘well, what would ms. walker do, she seems like a pretty good teacher?’ and we all started talking about all the great stuff we did in your class. it was so great and everyone got excited to talk about it.”

wow sam, you really just made my day… and actually, my week. it is such a warm, fuzzy feeling to know that what you do matters. thanks for that gem, sam, i’ll carry that in my pocket for while. 🙂

now… on to american idol before tonight’s show.

who should go this week? DEFINITELY luke. he was TERRIBLE this last week and he was even worse this week. he is lucky he has a pretty face because that might be the only that saves him… even though it shouldn’t. the other slot is hard to predict. danny noreiaga? he is not great, but still entertaining? chikeze? he has ups and downs, but is pretty good. dred-locked jason? NO WAY! i love him and think he is wonderful. i will find it hard to watch this show if he doesn’t make it to the top 12.

females… all i have to say is, what the HECK were randi and paula saying? were they actually listening? asia’h was not that good and kady maloy was TERRIBLE. i really don’t like amanda overmyer, but she may pull through a round or two in the top 12 because she was much better this week. who will go home? i predict kady maloy and asia’h because they were the worst but i still think it’s possible that kristy lee cook could go too.
which means my predictions for top 12 are as follows:

boys:

• Michael Johns
• Jason Castro – my personal favorite guy
• David Hernandez – i think he is the underrated contestant
• David Cook – this week= WOW
• David Archuleta
• Chikeze – though i still think it’s possible that danny noriega could take this spot and be labeled the next sanjaya with a little more attitude and a little less hair.

females:

• Carly Smithson – AMAZING this week
• Syesha Mercardo – she is really good
• Brooke White – really liked it. excellent choice with the acoustic
• Ramiele Malubay
• Alaina Whitaker Amanda Overmyer – MUCH better this week
• Asia’h Epperson Kristy Lee Cook – i am changing this because asia’h has not been good these past few weeks, and while neither has kristy been that stellar, i think she’s done better. i havent really liked what asia’h has done here since hollywood week.

anyway, after tonight i will get to grade myself and see how i did with my predictions! 🙂

3 davids?!?! February 28, 2008

ok, i am a fan of american idol, though i have only ever made it through one entire season from start to finish because i usually get bored along the way. the only season i ever watched completely was with taylor hicks… i picked him from his audition as the winner and it was fun to watch him along the way.

ANYWAY, to keep my attention for now, i have decided to post my thoughts and opinions on this current season.

so far i have been more impressed with the men in this competition than the ladies. i just finished watching the girls sing (i had to record it because of bible study). i need to post my predictions before tonight’s elimination (which i will also be watching on recorded tv because of band pratice).

so here it is, my official predictions for this 2008 season of american idol.

based on what i’ve seen so far, here are my predictions for the top 6 boys (in no particular order):

Michael Johns

Jason Castro

David Hernandez

David Cook

David Archuleta

C ould it be possible to have 3 davids in the top 12?! I think so. Archuleta is adorable and absolutely incredible. Hernandez does not get enough recognition for how good he actually is. Cook is good, plus we need a rocker. 🙂 i think the last slot is tricky and, depending on what happens next week, will probably go to chikezie or danny noriega. if it goes to luke menard, it will be purely because he is good looking. he is terrible. I like most of these guys, but i think, for now, my favorite is jason castro. he can sing, he’s adorable, he has dreadlocks, he’s slightly socially awkward (like my favorite roomie), and hello – he can play guitar. yay for hippies.

As for the women: i think overall they are sucking. they need to step it up for next week. i feel like the 70s theme has killed a lot of them and that a lot of people will vote based on previous performances. i have a feeling next week will be 80s… uh oh.

Anyway, here are my ideas for top 6 (again, in no particular order):

Carly Smithson

Syesha Mercardo

Brooke White

Ramiele Malubay

Alaina Whitaker

Asia’h Epperson

i can’t decide who is my absolute favorite girl so far. i love brooke white because she is so personable without being too ditzy – she is real, and she’s pretty good. can she win? probably not, but she can enjoy staying in the competition for a while. i have really been impressed with syesha mercado. i have liked asia’h in the past too, but this week she wasn’t too good. if she can pull it together next week, she could still make it. this week was really hurt her, but her past performances have been great.

so who should go home this week?

Hands down with the girls – Amanda Overmyer and Alexandra Lushington with Kady Malloy and Kristy Lee Cook on their way out the door next week if they don’t shape up.

For the guys – Luke Menard. his song this week was TERRIBLE and it hurt my ears. i am not lying when i say i had to mute the tv until it was over. i think it’s a toss up for who else will go home, probably Robbie Carrico or Jason Yeager. i mean, if we’re going to have 3 davids in the top 6 guys, we can’t have two jasons too.

feel free to comment with your own idol predictions and i might post tomorrow with reactions from who gets eliminated this evening. 🙂

june 16th it is! February 22, 2008

well, thanks to the crust of ice this morning, i will now be going to school until june 16th. if we do not have any other snow-related closings between now and then, i am curious to see how many parents are actually going to send their kid to school for three hours on a monday.

anyway, instead of using my day off to be resourceful and hardworking, i played monopoly online, read some books, and watched the travel channel.

productive? no         blissful? absolutely 🙂

current travel channel obsession? Anthony Bourdain’s ‘No Reservations.’ He is hilarious and awesome, i LOVE this show.