Adteacher

Every single minute that he isn't asleep these days, this man is racing the clock working on our house. We have lots of home improvement projects that we need to wrap up in the next week before DJ and Hailey's wedding, which unbelieveably is two weeks from yesterday! He is taking a personal day off on Thursday of this upcoming week to work hard on getting the house whipped into shape once and for all, but every evening and all weekend he is doing projects. This day he is sawing trimboards. He is replacing all the trim around the doors and also putting down new baseboards. It has become apparent that not everything will be complete, but we are doing the best we can. If we had some help from our kids, things would of course be easier - but DJ can't help until tomorrow because his bachelor party stuff is this weekend and he is in Austin until tomorrow, and Tim has a recording session today and had one last night too. Andi is swamped with work at UNT and can barely find a few h...

There has been some very encouraging news this week. I have been on a special new way of eating for the past 7 weeks. During that time, I have essentially cut sugar from my diet. That and concentrating on balancing proteins and low carb choices in my meals has caused several things to happen. Firstly, I have lost about 4" from my waistline. This may not seem apparent to people who know me, but I notice it in the way my clothes fit. I have lost approximately 18 pounds. That is starting to show up enough that I am noticing it. I still have a long way to go, but I suspect that I will be able to get there now. This is the least that I have weighed since having my last baby over 19 years ago. It has been such a struggle for me to lose weight, and now I have found a way of eating that allows me to actually lose weight. It is almost a miracle to me! Not only that, but I went to the doctor the other day to have my blood tested as I do about every 3 or 4 months, and another miraculous seri...

In the past 24 hours, my voice has vaporized to the point of oblivion. I have an upper respiratory infection that has robbed my larynx of its ability to function at all. Nothing but squeaks! Although it is not unusual for me to lose my voice - it happens to me about twice a year and is the most common malady that I get - it is amazing to me to realize how dependent my daily success is upon my voice and how much talking I really do during the course of the day. They say that you never fully appreciate something until you no longer have it. I think that is very true. I miss my voice today. It was TAKS testing day for the underclassmen. That means there was no morning class for DJCC today. I went to the doctor after missing a day of school yesterday, and he diagnosed me with the "UPI" (upper respiratory infection) and sent me on my way to get a prescription for five days' worth of little antibiotic pills to get me over this more quickly. It is the same medicine that was pr...

Fans of crazy cool music videos, check this one out. This is the newest outing from the OK Go guys who are actually more noted for their videos than for any other reason... here is something beyond any other marketing ploy for a video release that I have ever seen. This is so cool! It almost makes me forget the treadmill video (I said almost.) "This Too Shall Pass" is the name of the song. It's not just that it's a Rube Goldberg machine, which I adore, but it is that is such a big, clanky, self-promoting Rube Goldberg machine. Ever so much more appealing to a marketing and advertising type of teacher. There are four making-of videos on YouTube which you can link to here. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 . If you like this, then pass the word on for everyone to watch it. I think these guys have earned the airplay, don't you?

Recently I learned about a student of mine who is about to have a "beyond the ordinary" experience, and I thought I would share it with all of you. Here is the story in the words of Hebron HS student in the afternoon advanced class, Brad Stepien: "I suppose it's not an average experience, though it is the result of average luck. While George W. Bush was still in his presidency, my family and I were watching one of his addresses, and I noticed a guy with a funny looking mustache following him. I just kind of giggled to myself. As Obama was inaugurated, I noticed a hint of the same funny looking mustache close by the president. I asked my dad about it, and he told me that was the "Sergeant at Arms", to the president. Now, if you could have one job revolving around the president, I think that may just be THE job. Turns out, I'm related to that funny mustache. Terry Gainer, the Sergeant at Arms, is actually my cousin. I laughed at the fact, and it didn'...

I have really enjoyed the Olympics this year. I am really amazed at the guts that some of these athletes have shown. I am now sitting on the couch waiting on the final game between the hockey teams of Canada and the United States to begin. I rarely watch hockey, but this one has me intrigued. Actually, that is what the Olympics does for me every time. It causes me to have an appreciation for things that I don't normally have an appreciation for. I know that there are people who devote their entire lives to things like ice skating, and luge and bobsled and skiing. I don't find time to appreciate what they do until the Olympics. Then I stop and watch at the exact same moment in time that the entire world does, and for some reason it makes me feel that this planet is a little smaller place. We are all interested. We all care. I feel that we all appreciate the tremendous amount of time and training that it takes to get that good at something so incredibly difficult to learn. It is ...