Tuesday, February 28, 2012

sometimes pinning can turn into a project

and tomorrow, not only will I be trying out some inspiration from a pin
I get to do it with my former kiddos
yup, I'm heading back to my classroom from last year
and I can't wait to share what we make together
I always love doing something new
and getting to teach an art lesson to former students
 is surely something new
and awesome.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

sunday's "so they said"

right before break we took a day to celebrate our hard work that has been going on lately
in our room
between compiling a nine piece poetry anthology
and having LOTS of district big-whigs coming into our room
looking very intimidating with their business suits and iPads
and asking OH so many questions of my kids
we needed a day to kick back and just celebrate
and that's what we did
my favorite memories of the day include:
finger snapping with my kids instead of clapping
eating a donut with first period but feeling like I had eaten 7 by the end of the day
there is such a thing as smelling too many donuts
having one student go up not just once to read her poetry
but a total of 6 separate times
each reading slightly different, including accents, sitting poses, etc.

my favorite things they said that day include:
me prompting a student to read a second piece of poetry because he chose to read
his haiku poem, only three lines, and he looked up at me and said oh so seriously
"can I read the same poem again?"
now, let me tell you that typing this quote does it no justice
I was laughing so hard that I was literally crying

later in the day, one of my students as she sat down on the stool said
"oh wow, as soon as I sit here I just feel so dark and mysterious, ok, 
now I am ready to read my poem"

and lastly, I was so excited to hear this last quote from our woodshop teacher as he saw the donuts on the back counter of my classroom
"Oh that's right, you have your poetry coffeehouse read today."
seeing as how we don't really talk, and our classrooms are on opposite sides of the campus
I was curious how he knew so much about my day
the kids of course
and they were so excited they even asked their shop teacher to come listen to their poems!

they loved it.  I loved it.  done & done

Saturday, February 25, 2012

local lovin' [travel edition]

it has been quite a while since I've done a local lovin' post
but our recent vacation find in san diego cannot go unmentioned
we booked our room at the Lafayette Hotel the morning of our stay
for a whopping $59, and the reviews were good
but our experience was excellent

it is no surprise that the husband and I are lovers of all things from the past
and The Lafayette Hotel in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego
is really a great example of why
the hotel has recently been undergoing some major renovations
and I loved when staying there how they displayed the hotel's history for guests to see
in fact back in the day it was frequented by the likes of Bob Hope
not bad for us nerds for all things old and glamourous
the neighborhood was pretty simple
near major San Diego attractions like the Zoo & Balboa Park
but the "main drag" just had a great feel the husband & I couldn't get enough of
if only they made signs like these nowadays
and I would be an even happier camper

So if you are ever in the area, I would highly suggest this place.  
for couples I would ask for a room by the pool
(we just got insanely lucky!)
and families, they have larger rooms & bungalows that would be a great fit for more than two

other local lovin's here
travel local lovin's here

the details:
Lafayette Hotel & Suites San Diego
2223 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

Visit their website here!

from south to north

time to head back up north
and I must admit, I'm pretty ready for it
not quite ready to go back to school
or the fact that I have class next weekend
but all in all, normal life doesn't sound too bad




Friday, February 24, 2012

and then there were three [day two]

yesterday the husband and I put our ridiculous disneyland skills to use
when bringing along one of the mr.'s lifelong friends
who happens to live less than thirty minutes from disneyland
and had not been for over fifteen years!  
turns out - we are pretty fun people to visit mickey with
and just a few more instagram photos to add to the vacation collection
that I will be turning oh so fast into a blurb book
if you haven't used blurb before, I suggest it
not only have I created wedding albums through this program
I've also done one of their instagram books that just couldn't be any easier

one more night of fun to come
today I'm taking it easy, catching up around the blog world
 trying to get rid of the cold my ever so giving husband let me have
and not grading ANY of the papers that I brought with me this week
165 poetry anthologies can always wait, right?!?

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

disneyland, instagram-ed [day one]

are you obsessed with this little app too?
well, if so, I would love to follow along
you can find me @lyndsaylew

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

today vintage...tomorrow Disneyland

and I'm so happy about all of that 
I could almost fly away on one of these bikes

today we visited the Long Beach Antique mall, again
no treasures we couldn't live without
but it made for a pretty nice afternoon
after that we've been resting up
and will soon be carb-ing up with close friends
because tomorrow, we get our magic on
be prepared for too many instagram photos for sure

Monday, February 20, 2012

southern california, pretty in to you right now

so you know how sometimes you just have trips, and they don't go exactly as planned
and they might not live up to your expectations
well, that hasn't been this trip at all
luckin' into awesomness has been the theme so far
and I'm not going to let that stop anytime soon.
currently blogging from my new favorite place
poolside
and yes, I'm pretty into it
photo strips taken with IncrediBooth
I picked it up for free, but it is still only $.99 (not bad)

Friday, February 17, 2012

poetry reading, finger snapin', donut filled friday

and I wouldn't have had it any other way
so after working on nine pieces of poetry on this last chapter
and putting it together into a final anthology
we celebrated today by turning our room into a "coffeehouse"
and if you're keeping track of my elementary v. middle school debate
well, this week, middle school is winning

side note - bags are packed & I'm ready to go
vacation starts tomorrow

Thursday, February 16, 2012

thrifted it thursday


well, typically the thrifting gods direct me to nothing but pyrex
however, when I stumbled on this orange beauty, I just had to get it
even though we have NO room in our little kitchen
I just couldn't resist
so this Beautyware Cake Carrier is
adorable, vintage, and pretty handy

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

valentines day

whether you celebrate, think it's a ridiculous day, are single or divorced
there isn't much you can't love about finding a bowl full of vintage valentines
that were never even used
my valentine's gift to my students today
prepping them for being "on display" for the district rounds that will be coming through our room
multiple times tomorrow
wish me luck

Monday, February 13, 2012

happy hearts & red pretty things day

here's to a day of all things red, pink, heart-shaped and such
last friday the husband and I enjoyed dinner with friends
where we ate pizza, shared stories, got to hang out with one pretty adorable baby
and topped the evening off by making lots of very awesomely valentines-ie cake pops
and I can take NO photo credit for these greats shots of our final product
so thanks Evie for snapping some real photos of our hard work!
trying to take pictures on my iphone after 11:00 pm on a Friday night = not so pretty

Sunday, February 12, 2012

sunday's "so they said"

well, this week I had the pleasure, no honor, to chaperone yet another middle school dance
being on "freak patrol" is always such a shining moment in my career
I also got into a very interesting tangent conversation with 4th period on Friday
I had to ask one of my kids to put away his old school calculator that he was 
messing around with during class
I let him know that I already had to worry about people
texting, updating their facebook status, etc.
well, this led to some confessing on their part
apparently the thing to do in class, when you don't care about what's being taught
is to hide your earbud cord from your ipod in your sweatshirt sleeve,
and then just lean your head on your hand to the side
and walah - listening to music in class
not the teacher

you should have seen the look on my face
REALLY?
I asked, thinking I was oh so hip and on top of these things
clearly I'm not
and then I ask the question
 So, have you done this in my class????

a few quickly spoke up
"no, I actually find this class kind of interesting"
my response, well thanks - so your telling me you haven't done that in this room
"Well...we have, but only when you have a sub."
so there you go
compliment, yes
realizing just one more reason why NOTHING gets done when I'm gone
it all makes since now 

for now I'm going to get my geek on with the return of The Walking Dead
and relish in the thought of only teaching five more days until I'm off to

Saturday, February 11, 2012

ten on ten [february]

other tens here

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Monday, February 6, 2012

recipe for a bad teacher

this weekend I was asked to write a recipe poem in class
and seeing how this year I have really been grappling with the concept of quality teaching
I instantly knew what I wanted to write a recipe for - a bad teacher
so with the help of my fellow educators, Amy & Kathy
here's what we came up with
and while trying to not do that today
we did this instead
we looked back at our past two benchmark tests
and they told me what questions they struggled on
and more importantly...why
and hey, ask kids to use post-its and it is game on.
tomorrow, we'll use poetry & post-its together
so I'm pretty excited about that

Sunday, February 5, 2012

sunday's "so they said"

let's just say this week almost took everything I had
just to get through
the chapter was extremely challenging
and seeing as it is after winter break
the calendar has quickly become my greatest enemy
with STAR testing right around the corner
so, now my days consist of teaching
the best I possibly can
and do it in record time
here are two of my favorite comments from this week
first, when talking about the War of 1812
and how it pretty much was the end of the Federalist party
groans and cheers instantly filled the room
now why do teenagers care that a political party, that mind you,  they hadn't heard of 
before that week
finally had met their demise?
well, because for the "Republicans" of our campaign they viewed it as a final victory
and the poor "Federalists" were feeling very defeated!
and really, my favorite conversation I just happened to hear 
when walking around on Friday before the bell rang

"So, how do you think you did on that test?"
response: "I'm pretty sure I just kicked the crap out of that test.  Oh, sorry Mrs. Lewis.  I didn't see you there."
I responded: "Don't apologize, I'm glad it wasn't the other way around!"

And truth be told
they did kick the crap out of that test
and if the word crap is my biggest problem - well, I'll take that

Saturday, February 4, 2012

a weekend with poetry

and getting one step closer to my masters all at the same time
this week I'll actually break down these lessons
but for now, here's what I was up to today
and yes, this did become a poem
and hopefully I will be adapting this lesson this week for my kids
oh, and I look forward to sharing a very new, very exciting blog
for you to check out
let's just say I love sister bloggers
and I now am one half of just that!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

because clearly one wasn't enough

so this month I decided that joining in on one of the oh so popular photo challenges
sounded like a good idea
and not only did one sound good - but two did
so thanks to Maryam of Pamplemousse 1983
for sharing this particular challenge
join in if you want

thrifted it thursdays


these two little guys sat on the shelf at the thrift store for several weeks
I just kept waiting for those tag colors to get to 75% off
I think because the green one appeared to be a little beat up
but clearly it was just in need of a good scrub
and the blue wheat, being a promotional piece, most likely got passed up
I must admit, when I saw it at first I wasn't sure if it was Pyrex either
so now the lime green & blue wheat casserole have joined the rest of the family

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

just the little things

so maybe I was feeling a tad guilty about the length of the study guide
or maybe I just had a little blank corner to fill
either way, a little personal touch never hurts
and let me tell you
these hand made notes continue to be a hit
so I'm just going to roll with it
and stock up on Sharpies while I'm at it
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