My crew

Oh' Rome Moscato d'Asti

N.V. Oh' Rome Moscato d'Asti (Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Moscato d'Asti)

Vintage Type Producer Variety Designation Vineyard Country Region SubRegion Appellation

N.V. White - Sweet/Dessert Oh' Rome Moscato Blanco n/a n/a Italy Piedmont Asti Moscato d'Asti

light, low alcohol, lightly frizzante, sticky sweet moscato. The lady at HEB said it is perfect mixed with sprite.

Italy

Piedmont

Vignaioli Piemontesi (Italian only)

Moscato d'Asti

Consorzio per la Tutela dell'Asti

5th Grade Supplemental Math - Week 6

Week 6

Word Problem Solving Plan 1

Word Problem Solving Strategies

Problem Solving Word Problems 2

Word Problem Solving 3

Word Problem Solving 4

5th Grade Supplemental Math - Week 5

Week 5 Linear Coordinates
The Coordinate Plane
Graphing Using Intercepts
Graphs of Linear Equations
Slope and Rate of Change
Graphs Using Slope-Intercept Form
Direct Variation Models
Linear Function Graphs
Linear Equations in Slope Intercept Form
Linear Equations in Point Slope Form
Linear Equations in Standard Form
Equations of Parallel and Perpendicular Lines

Great Commencement Speech:

Ellen DeGeneres: Define Your Own Success

Tulane, 2009: My idea of success is different today. And as you grow, you’ll realize the definition of success changes. For many of you, today, success is being able to hold down 20 shots of tequila. For me, the most important thing in your life is to live your life with integrity, and not to give in to peer pressure. To try to be something that you’re not. To live your life as an honest and compassionate person. To contribute in some way.

So to conclude my conclusion: Follow your passion, stay true to yourself. Never follow anyone else’s path, unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path, and by all means you should follow that. Don’t give advice, it will come back and bite you in the ass. Don’t take anyone’s advice. So my advice to you is to be true to yourself and everything will be fine.

Tom Brokaw: Know That Less Can Be More

University of Montana, 2011: We may not have given you a perfect world, but we have given you dynamic opportunities for leaving a lasting legacy as a generation fearless and imaginative, tireless and selfless in pursuit of solutions to these monumental problems, a generation that emerged from this financial tsunami and rebuilt the landscape of their lives with an underpinning of sound values and an eye for proportion, knowing, in fact, that less can be more. It will not be easy, but I can promise you it will be rewarding in ways that a Wall Street bonus or a shot on American Idol cannot compete.

So where to begin? … It will be the most rewarding if it is rooted in personal passion and carried out with purpose, even when the first steps are small. You have an assortment of nimble and powerful tools that can assist you, and the Internet, with its vast universe of information and a capacity for research and communications playing out on ever-smaller devices across an ever-widening spectrum of choices. But those are tools; they're not oracles. They complement your mind and your heart, but they do not replace them.

5th Grade Supplemental Math - Week 4

Week 4 Algebra
Introduction to matrices
Matrix multiplication (part 1)
Matrix multiplication (part 2)
Inverse Matrix (part 1)
Inverting matrices (part 2)
Inverting Matrices (part 3)
Matrices to solve a system of equations
Matrices to solve a vector combination problem
Singular Matrices
3-variable linear equations (part 1)
Solving 3 Equations with 3 Unknowns
Linear Algebra: Introduction to Vectors
Linear Algebra: Vector Examples
LinLinear Algebra: Parametric Representations of Lines
Linear Combinations and Span

Linear Algebra: Introduction to Linear Independence

5th Grade Supplemental Math - Week 3

Decimals and Fractions

Converting fractions to decimals

Ordering numeric expressions

Representing a number as a decimal, percent, and fraction

Representing a number as a decimal, percent, and fraction 2

Converting Fractions to Decimals

Ordering Numeric Expressions

5th Grade Supplemental Math - Week 2

Week 2

Decimal Place Value
Decimal Place Value 2
Decimals and Fractions
Converting Fractions to Decimals
Comparing Decimals
Rounding Decimals
Decimals on a Number Line
Comparing Decimals
Adding Decimals
Subtracting Decimals
Subtracting Decimals Word Problem
Multiplying Decimals
Multiplying a Decimal by a Power of 10
Dividing Decimals
Dividing a Decimal by a Power of 10
Dividing Decimals 2.1
Mulitplyling Decimals 3
Estimation with Decimals

5th Grade Supplemental Math - Week 1

Week 1

Numerator and Denominator of a Fraction
Identifying Fraction Parts
Proper and Improper Fractions
Converting Mixed Numbers to Improper Fractions
Changing an Improper Fraction to a Mixed Number
Recognizing Divisibility
Finding Factors of a Number
Prime Factorization
Recognizing Prime Numbers
Equivalent Fractions
Fractions in lowest terms
Comparing Fractions
Comparing Fractions 2
Multiplying Fractions

Are you Kidding me?

okay, the scales are officially broken. they can not be right.

starting to hyperventilate? yes, I do that daily. it is okay, it is just a way your body deals with stress and too much information. Information overload is something that I get weekly. I know how much I learned in school, I went to Elementary, High School, and college for 20 years, and now that I am educating my own children, tutoring two in college with skype and two in elementary / intermediate school is if nothing else OVERWHELMING for me. the first year I was scared that I might fail, that we would try it out, the kids didn't believe in me, because I didn't believe in me, the second year we were frustrated and agitated, it was not going the way I wanted. Quarterly I would have a talk with my husband, and he was always ready to send them back, but I was resolved that this was the path even if I felt like Lewis and Clark and the journey was bound to fail. I finally got to a point 18 months into the journey. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION, and I informed my family.

Suck it up, Walk it off, this is our path: EVERY DAY, ALL DAY. It is better now, I know that I am not alone. I am not without resources and I am fully in charge to make changes on the fly as I see fit to tweak the program, I share my changes and surprisingly many are implemented throughout not just TXVA but all of K12, so we are truly a grassroots movement that is making a difference every single day not just in our children lives, but in the lives of those children that live down the street, across town, or in the next county. Do not be silent and alone at home, reach out and say what is working, it is not working, what you think would make it work better. k12 is listening, TXVA is listening, your teachers are listening, and most importantly, other parents are learning from you, even if you are Brand Spanking New at this, you have a head on your shoulders and a lifetime of experience to bring to the table. Oh and by the way, do not forget your needed in BOOSTERS at the next meeting.

however, I seem to be glued to this desk and my butt is spreading out to the size of the gulf of mexico, that can not be good. I know that it is hot, but I have decided that I have two flights of stairs in the house, I should go up and down them like 10 times per hour. yep, that should do it.

words to live by

RESPECT for ourselves, guide our MORALS

RESPECT for others, guide our MANNERS

Mom's Night In

The 2007 Fratelli Moscato d'Asti is 100% Moscato. Fruit comes from the Asti region in Piedmont. 600 cases of this wine were produced and is available from HEB price is $9.99.

This sparkling Moscato has intense aromas of fruit and honey. Throughout the palate honey, tropical fruit and an undercurrent of almond are present. There is a pleasant, inherent sweetness that glides along the tongue and coats the back of the tongue. Those sweet notes are perfectly balanced by enough acidity to keep this sparkler from every becoming cloying. On its own I would serve with appetizers such as goat cheese puffs or with a fruit tart for dessert.

Wednesday

I went non stop today, parent support for TXVA, Cub Scout field trip to petco, we had 17 kids under 11 attend. then school supplies (did you know that Office Max has folders for $.01? and then Target for everything under the sun, and then art class at the museum (free) and then chess club at the library and then the boys made dinner (scout requirement) and then one boy had boy scouts and the other piano practice, after showers tonight I was exhausted.

Ducking Responsibility

WTD 547 Sunday

brilliant scouting ideas

Scouting Ideas

The magic button — Make Everything OK

The magic button — Make Everything OK

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Recipe adapted from www.comfybelly.com

2 1/2 cups of blanched almond flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
8 tablespoons of butter (if you want the cookies a little chewier add 1-2 TBS additional butter)
1 tablespoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of honey (I use sugar-free honey from Nature’s Hollow)
1 cup of chocolate chips (I use sugar-free chocolate chips)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and blend well.
3. Add the wet ingredients and blend well again.
4. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper, and drop a spoon full of cookie dough on the parchment paper, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until they start to brown on the edges.

Who's YOUR momma?

It started with an Amish Friendship Sour Dough in a bag from Cub Scouts.

it Evolved into a day of reckoning

The 10 day to get to this point are an excersize in patience.

Note: Do not Refridgerate starter. It is normal for the batter to rise and ferment. if air gets in the bag, let it out.

Day 1: do Nothing

Day 2, 3, 4, 5: Mash the bag

Day 6: Add to the bag: 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of milk, mash the bag.

Day 7, 8, 9: Mash the bag

Day 10: follow the directions below:

pour the entire bag into a nonmetal bowl

add 1.5 cups four, 1.5 cups sugar, 1 cup milk

measure out 4 separate batters of 1 cup each into 4 1-gallon ziploc bags, label the current date.

keep one for yourself, and give the other bags to 3 friends along with the recipe.

Remember: if you keep a starter for yourself, you will be baking in 10 days.

Baking instructions:

1. preheat oven to 325'F

2. measure out 1 cup of remaining starter in a non metal bowl

3. add 2.5 cups of flour (could be white, wheat, or a blend)

4. add 2 tsp of yeast, fold and toss until flour is incoporated.

5. in a pint jar, add 1.5 cups of water, 3 Tbl sugar, 3 Tbl butter, microwave for 1 minute until butter is nearly melted

6. stir in jar, and add to starter / flour / yeast mixture until mixed well.

7. measure out 2.5 cups of flour (could be white, wheat, or a blend), add 1/2 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of sea salt

8. mix gingerly with rubber paddle or fingers until all evenly, kneed to smooth finish, cover and let rise about an hour, kneed again. each batch makes one 2 lb or 2 one lb loaves

bake until golden brown.

one starter can make up to two or three large dough's

time for an update

Gracious, they are getting big!

Go the F*ck to Sleep - read by Samuel L. Jackson.flv

Squash Patties

The recipe for these delicious patties was given to me by my friend Ellen. She’s always been one of my favorites. Written on the recipe is the following blurb, “This is the only way I can get Russ to eat squash.” If you have somebody in your family who thinks they don’t like squash, give this recipe a try.

Ingredients:

* 1 cup cooked, drained and mashed yellow squash
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 c. self-rising flour
* 1/4 c. sauteed chopped onions
* 1/4 c. sauteed peppers (red or green), optional
* freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients.

Drop by large spoonfuls into hot skillet coated with vegetable oil spray or 2 t. vegetable oil. When browned on one side, flip and cook until brown on reverse side (just like you would make regular pancakes).

on my list to do today

CHEAP AND YUMMY BROWNIE RECIPE!

6 TBSP cocoa, 1/4 C butter, 1 C sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/3 C flour, 2 eggs,

Cook 350 - 25 mins.

Science my Favorite

• okay, confirmation, I am not crazy, this is the way to teach now days. whew!

  NIH Science Education Nation - Education Today

  science.education.nih.gov

  People accustomed to a traditional science classroom where the teacher directly communicates factual information will likely be surprised if they find themselves in a science class that’s using inquiry-based learning.

• Science.. my favorite

  Hands-on Engineering Activities for Grades 6-12

  www.nsta.org

  
  

• technology, my favorite

  

  TCEA - Texas Computer Education Association

  www.tcea.org

  The Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) is innovate teaching and learning processes to improve classroom learning experiences.