Eureka--I've found it!

Holy crap.  I don't know how many of you are familiar with edmodo; if you've used it before or still use it today.  I discovered it last year and it's an AMAZING tool to use with your classrooms! Anyhoo, I'm a member of the Gamification group in edmodo and someone posted something about this online Gamification course on Coursera that's free to take.  Well, seeing that I'm very much interested in gamification and am currently gamifying my classroom, I signed up for the 6-week course.

So far, it's been a series of video lessons with embedded quizzes and hidden messages.  It's really interesting, but honestly there's something more appealing to me than the fact that it's online or even free.  The video player gives you the choice of watching the videos at your personal speed.  I can speed up or slow down the videos as much as I want.  This might not seem like a big deal to you, but my biggest struggle with school and other presentations that involve large groups is that most of the time they go a LOT slower than I would like.  Again, I have zero patience.  I like presenters to get to the point and move on.  So I happily clicked away and found my ideal speed rate for these videos.

I'm at 2.0 (two point oh).

My kids walked by with their jaws open and squealed, "Why is he talking like that?!" I merely smiled and replied, "Cuz that's the way I like it." His voice didn't get all chipmunk-y either.  I'm just getting through his (roughly) 10 minute videos in half the time.  Thank you, God.  And honestly, that's how my mind works--in double time.  I just have never found anything in real life that is accommodating to that.

That's just part of the reason why I'm kind of a nerd.  Little joys such as this.  Also, the fact that I'm blogging and taking a gamification course instead of watching the Michigan State game is more proof.  Hey....to each, his own, right?  :)

PD Should Stand For "Partially Dead"

Look, I understand that teachers need to attend professional development to develop themselves, well, professionally.  But dear Lord--can we do more things that are relevant to our actual jobs? I absolutely cannot sit in a chair for more than 10 minutes.  I need to get up and walk around or else Miss Anxiety starts to make an appearance and the palms start to sweat a little bit.  Here's an interesting tidbit about me: I need to sit at the end of a table, preferably closest to an exit.  I know, it sounds weird, but honestly there are times when I need to leave a meeting and just walk around for a bit.

So imagine the emotional angst I've endured for the past few days sitting in meetings for hours on end, listening to presenters go on and on and on and on and on.  I wanted to scratch my eyes out.  It's times like these when I wish they would "flip" these professional developments.  Just let me freaking watch a video and fast forward through the parts I already know so I don't have to wait for everyone else.  That way, I can still learn the material and move on at a more acceptable rate for me.  It's a win-win situation.  More reason for me to use video lessons in my classroom.

Of course, after PD (and being a glutton for punishment) I decided to go back to my classroom to finish decorating and setting up.  It was meant to be a couple of hours.  I got home at 7:15 pm.  I was a zombie by the time I got home.  So anyhoo, that was my day.  It's time for me to get back to work and get some more curriculum stuff done. I'm so not where I need to be.

And tomorrow I get to do it all over again....then start my grad class.  *heavy sigh*  Rivas, out....

Went to the store to buy some ham...

...came back with a whole damn cart full of crap I didn't need.  So yeah, I was craving a sangwich and realized we were out of ham.  So Furture Hubby and I decided to go to Meijer and pick up some grub.  I know this has happened to all of you before.  All of a sudden, it turns into, "OOOH! Chips! We need chips to go with our sangwiches!"

"How about the BLT chips?"

"To go with our BLT sangwiches? Isn't that overkill?"

Anyhoo, 2 thingies of banana nut muffins, 10 thingies of Yoplait yogurt, 2 ginormous bottles of salsa and some other random stuff later, we're ready to check out until something catches my eye.

Now here's a small confession:  I'm a sucker for hats.  Particularly, fedoras.  They are ever so cute and stylish and although I own enough, this one caught my eye.

Tell me it's not to die.  And then I saw this scarf:

That's what I said! Ruffles!!!! So anyhoo, we FINALLY get home after spending an hour at the store when it should've taken much less time.  The sangwiches were delish and my fedora and scarf look amazing. :)

So now as I wrap things up and get ready for bed, I'm making a mental "To Do" list for tomorrow: finish laundry, take roast out to defrost (making mole tomorrow for the first time--dear God, please let this go right!), getting some planning done for the upcoming school year (more on that fiasco tomorrow), take pop bottles in since there's about $40 worth of pop bottles in my trunk, and maybe even squeeze in a few chapters of Fifty Shades Darker. I've been neglecting Christian lately. Need to catch up.  Hopefully it'll drown out James Ingram's "I Don't Have The Heart" that's been playing on repeat in my head due to my kids playing it non-stop today.  Yeah...James Ingram.

Welp, I'm off...somehow, 2 of my 4 children managed to get Icy Hot in their eyes.  Don't ask. Laters, baby...

Should've Waited 5 More Mikes...

That's minutes, in military terms.  Seeing as I'm delving into the world of blogging, I should've waited 5 more minutes so I could officially birth my very first blog at midnight, August 1, 2012.  But I didn't...which is the story of my life.  I physically am unable to wait. For anything.  Patience is not my forte, and it is illustrated by the fact that I couldn't wait for a perfect, even-numbered time to start this blog.

Regardless, here I am.  I can't say I know too much about what I'm doing or what I've gotten myself into.  However, I'm somewhat excited to get the ball rolling on this so I can share my daily adventures for anyone who decides they're bored enough to read this.  Disclaimer:  my life is not perfect or all that interesting.  If you're looking for something profound, this ain't it.  If you want a blog that moves your soul...keep looking.  So what exactly can you expect from this blog? A retelling of my life: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

A little about myself.  I am 33 (almost 34) years old and grew up in Grand Rapids. I went to IHM and Catholic Central, then Aquinas for a little.  Then I decided to take a break from college, went to live with my sister in Detroit, worked as a teller for about a year, then decided, "I think I'm going to join the Marines."

So I did.

Fast forward 5 active duty years later.  I came back to Michigan, finished my Associate's at GRCC and graduated from GVSU in 2009.  I was hired then and currently work for Grand Rapids Public Schools as an 8th grade special education teacher and absolutely love it.  Last year I decided to start a business and went ahead and got that ball rolling, too.  What do I do on the side? I get rid of lice.  No, you're not drunk, you read that correctly.  I have technicians who go to people's homes and get rid of head lice for them.  I'm sure we'll talk more about that later.  Then I decided I should start my Master's and here I am.  I love technology. I am in the process of using gamification and components of the flipped classroom with my students.  It's my first year doing it and I'm scared out of my mind, but more excited than anything.  Oh, and did I mention I have 4 kids?

Yeah. It's gonna be a busy year. 

So that's me.  I hope I can provide you with some form of entertainment.  Either that, or I can provide you with enough reading to put you to sleep if you struggle with insomnia.  Either way, I'll tell you as I tell my children: "Hold on to your butts." (Thank you, Jurassic Park, for that line.) Get your beverages ready (alcoholic or non), your fuzzy socks on, and prop your pillow.  The Rivas Show is about to begin...