Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The end to sticky is near

It pays to have a friend who makes maple syrup. Allen stayed over night at a friend's house (Jacob), who's parents are Robin and Kieth. I mentioned them a couple of posts ago. On Saturday morning, they gathered up the sap and went and had it made into syrup. Allen went along to take part in the whole process and came home later with a jug of maple syrup. Yum! Nothing beats the real thing! Thanks, Robin and Kieth!

Things are looking better concerning school. I have gotten a lot of major projects completed and handed in. The load on my shoulders is lighter! However...the trip to Paris is still on my shoulders and that is the biggest one! In two days, I present the lesson. I'm really nervous about how it will turn out. I don't feel ready! On a positive note...I managed to complete my cataloging homework this morning without feeling completely confused! Yeah!

I am looking so forward to being done with all of this! Just a few more weeks and I can take a little break before starting up again.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Stressed out in Paris


Well...things have gotten really ugly around here for my grad work. I was so stressed out yesterday that I actually cried. I was so overwhelmed! I thought that there was no possible way of getting the work accomplished. But...I managed to complete one of the things that was giving me great grief.

However...the biggest project is the webquest I mentioned a couple of posts ago. Please pray that I can take a classroom of 10th grade French students on a virtual tour of Paris and have it be a smashing success!

I really need to get a good grade on this!

(image source: DiscoverFance.net)

Monday, March 16, 2009

Sticky Stuff!

As I drove by my friend, Robin's house the other day, I noticed that she and Kieth had tapped the sugar maples that line their driveway. Unfortunately I did not get a picture since I did not have my camera. I'm going to try to get one and replace this one (which I borrowed off the internet).

I have finished a paper which was worth a quarter of my grade in one of my classes. I hope I did well on it! It can be so agonizing to hand things in and wait. I want to know how I did...but I'm afraid to know! So far I have done very well on everything. I have another paper that is due on Wednesday by midnight! I'm having difficulty getting going on this one since I pretty much spent the entire day Saturday writing the other one.

I have so much work to do that it is getting rather sticky! I really am not enjoying my cataloging class. I just find it to be such tedious and boring work. I will never be a cataloger and praise the Lord that most publishers will do this for librarians. If they don't, then there is always the Library of Congress which allows libraries to download cataloging info for free. So...why do I have to be bothered by a class?

Good news is that I am going to be doing a practicum at M Public Library for the months of May and June. I'm really looking forward to this! I need to keep a diary of what goes on daily and what I am learning. It might be fun to do this in blog form.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Getting unstuck!


I have been working hard on a research paper. It is coming along very well. It is due on Tuesday by midnight. I'm sure it will be done before then. I'm learning a lot and enjoying it!

I'm also doing a collaboration project with a teacher at a high school nearby. Basically what that means is that I take on the role of a librarian and work with a teacher to help her complete a lesson objective. In this case, a French teacher wants to teach her students about the basic layout of Paris and the sightseeing monuments, museums, etc. I'm creating a webquest for her to use as a tool to do this.

Good news! I think I have a short internship lined up for myself at a public library in a town nearby. I'm pretty excited about it! (More on this in a later post)

Here's the plan. After this semester, I take 2 summer courses (including the internship I just mentioned). In the fall I take 2 courses. In the spring I do my practicum (a librarian's equivalent to student teaching) and then I'm done! I will have a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science and I can get a real job!

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Stuck Update


So here is my update on various tidbits of my life:
I found an incredible dresser for Audra on Craigslist. It cost only $30! I'm just so excited about it! I took her out sneaker shopping...but she is difficult to please on my budget. The only ones she liked were $70...but I wouldn't even let her try them on. I wrote the paper and I think I did a good job. I even handed it in one day early! I found someone to interview for another paper I am going to start writing soon. Next week I am going to a high school to discuss a collaborative lesson with a French teacher. (more elephant!) I am officially on break...but that just means that I won't be handing in any assignments next week or going to a class. I will still be doing school work. But...to celebrate: I will be indulging in some reading for recreation. A welcome change from reading textbooks. Alicia is playing a 12 inch viola and will soon move up to the 13 inch. I made pizza for dinner and discovered I had no sauce...so we had garlic pizza. Allen's 14th birthday is Sunday and he's having a bunch of hungry teenage boys over this weekend. And....my dog still adores me even though I haven't taken him for a walk since the other day.