Tomorrow

“Tomorrow owes you the sum of your yesterdays. No more than that. And no less.” ― Robin Hobb, The Mad Ship 

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Picked

 

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App Alert: Habitica!

I recently began using an app called Habitica. Let me tell you, I'm hooked.

What Is Habitica?  

As a fan of RPG style games and an avid to-do list maker, this app really seals the deal for me. I have a collection of "to-do" lists in various places and I immediately moved everything into one place. I can easily sort between work, school, personal, etc. by adding tags to each task. It differentiates between odds and ends on a to-do list, to recurring tasks, and even habits you'd like to start (or stop). You gain XP and gold by completing tasks, which in turn unlocks items and gear and levels your character. You can join subject specific guilds and join themed quests to defeat bosses. I happily joined a Harry Potter guild and am in the "first-year quest" where I have to complete tasks such as "study Herbology" (aka eat some veggies). Habitica is also web-based and easily accessible on the computer (which I prefer over the app version).

 According to the creators:

"Habitica is a video game to help you improve real life habits. It "gamifies" your life by turning all your tasks (habits, dailies, and to-dos) into little monsters you have to conquer. The better you are at this, the more you progress in the game. If you slip up in life, your character starts backsliding in the game."

For detailed information, visit their Wiki at http://habitica.wikia.com/wiki/Habitica_Wiki.

Does it Work?

So far, it's been great! It checks all the right boxes for my own personal interests and I find myself trying to get more tasks done to get further in the game. Currently, my character has bard armor, a beret, and a tire iron as a weapon. So I'm pretty motivated to keep going and earning! As with many things, this app is what you make it. You have to be honest with yourself, of course, and as long as you maintain that integrity the game with maintain its worth. 

Check it out!

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Leaning Log Over a Creek

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Personality Tests for Your Paraprofessionals (and you!)

Working Relationships

I'm talking to those special education teachers with one or more paraprofessionals in your room.  I've quickly learned that your paraprofessionals can make or break your classroom. A great paraprofessional is a God send, and one who isn't so great can completely turn the tide of your classroom. Learning how to lead and to work as a team simultaneously is tricky enough - but there may be some ways to make it easier, starting with learning about who they are.

16 Personalities

Having multiple adults in the room can sure feel like there are 16 personalities, but that isn't what this is about. Before you categorize me as one of "those", hear me out! Out of curiosity, I took a free personality test at https://www.16personalities.com/. The test took 5-10 minutes and when I tell you the results were thorough, the results were THOROUGH. I was actually quite impressed that it contained so much information for a free test. So - I had my paraprofessionals take it too! At this point, I'm quite close with my paraprofessionals so I already know them very well but it was still very eye opening. It was information I could have definitely utilized a few years ago! 

These women are worth their weight in gold!

One of the best sections in the results is the "Workplace Habits" section. It can give you - as the "leader", a great deal of insight about your team - and insights about yourself.   We all read each others' results and were all dumbfounded with how accurate they were. It was beneficial for all of our working relationships (and personal as well). For example, my personality type (INFP), had this to say about my leadership habits:

As managers, INFPs are among the least likely to seem like managers – their egalitarian attitudes lend respect to every subordinate, preferring communication as human beings than as a boss/employee opposition. People with the INFP personality type are flexible, open-minded and give their subordinates the tools they need, be they responsible delegation or an intuitive and receptive sounding board, to get the job done. Keeping their eyes on the horizon, INFPs set goals that achieve a desirable end, and help the people working under them to make that happen.

There is a downside to this style, as sometimes the boss just needs to be the boss. INFPs know how they feel about criticism, and are reluctant to subject others to that same experience, whether it’s needed or even welcome. Further complicating this role, when INFPs are under stress, as when someone really does warrant criticism, they can become extremely emotional – they may not show it, but it can affect their judgment, or even cause them to withdraw inwards, in ways that can really hold back their team.

Everyone agreed this matched me, so I had some reflecting to do on my "downsides". It was actually very eye opening. One of the hardest things to do is to really reflect on your weaknesses. It's easy to get wrapped up in your strengths. 

It takes more effort and dedication to identify and work on your weaknesses. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean you become a different person. What it means is that you understand your weaknesses and do what you are comfortable with to compensate for those weaknesses. Don't forget, what is perceived as a weakness in one setting may be perceived as a strength in another. Your weaknesses do not make you any less, they merely help shape who you are as an individual.

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"Flaming Flamingo"

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Crockpot Sesame Chicken

Crockpot Sesame Chicken

Fooducate Rating

I'm going to use Fooducate to rate each meal by searching the ingredients and averaging out the score. For those unfamiliar with Fooducate, it grades different foods on a scale of A through F based on their idea of healthy. Though it is not foolproof, it is a great and easy way to give yourself an idea of the health value of foods you are eating. Though it feels great to make your own food at home, it's also important to make sure that food is beneficial to your body.

Overall Rating: B

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast: A-

Chicken Broth: B-
Rice Vinegar: B
Low-Sodium Soy Sauce: C
Honey: C
Ketchup: C
Garlic: A
Red Pepper Flakes: A
Ginger: A
Black Pepper: A
Cornstarch: C
Jasmine Rice: B-
Orange: A
Green Onions: A

                                               The Recipe

prep time   5 minutes

cook time   3 hours

total time   3 hours 5 minutes

servings4

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1/4 cup starch
• sesame seeds, for topping
• rice, for serving (I used 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice)
• 1 orange, for serving
• Handful of green onions, chopped, for serving

Sauce 

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Oil the crockpot with olive oil
2. In a bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients
3. Pour half of the sauce into the crockpot
4. Place chicken into the crockpot
5. Pour the remaining half of the sauce over the chicken. At this point, I drizzled some honey on top of the chicken, for an extra dash of sweetness.
6. Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on LOW for 4 hours, or HIGH for 2 hours.
7. Remove the chicken and set aside.
8. Whisk the cornstarch into the sauce until combined.
9. Place the chicken back into the crockpot, then cover.
10. Cook for an additional 30 minutes on HIGH (if you cooked on HIGH before), or one hour on HIGH (if you cooked on low).
11. Cook the rice according to instructions, while waiting.
12. When chicken is done, remove it and cut it into chunks or shred it inside the crockpot using two forks.
13. Stir the chicken back into the sauce.
14. To serve, start with rice and place chicken on top. Top with sesame seeds, chopped green onion, and orange slices.

Prepping the ingredients. I promise to never buy Hunts again!

Chicken sitting in the sauce, ready to be cooked!

After shredding the chicken and adding some sesame seeds (you can also cut into chunks)

Puting the bowls together.

Final product! It was very filling and yummy.
The oranges complimented it perfectly.

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"Playing Pretend"

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Simple Huevos Rancheros

Simple Huevos Rancheros

This was a relatively good tasting, simple recipe. It's not one that pulls out all the stops but for something quick and satisfying it hit the spot!

Fooducate Rating

I'm going to use Fooducate to rate each meal by searching the ingredients and averaging out the score. For those unfamiliar with Fooducate, it grades different foods on a scale of A through F based on their idea of healthy. Though it is not foolproof, it is a great and easy way to give yourself an idea of the health value of foods you are eating. Though it feels great to make your own food at home, it's also important to make sure that food is beneficial to your body.

Overall Rating: A-

Eggs: A

Salt: B-

Cumin: A

Chili Powder: A-

Cinnamon: A

Black Pepper: A

Red Onion: A

Grape Tomatos: A

Cilantro, Raw: A

Lime Juice: B

Flour Tortilla: C

Guacamole: B

                                               The Recipe

prep time 10 minutes

cook time 10 minutes

total time 20 minutes

servings 1- 2

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2-4 small flour tortillas, warmed
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• salt and black pepper
• 2 tsp olive oil
• guacamole, for serving
• black beans and cheese, for serving

Tomato Salsa

• 1 1/4 cups grape tomatoes, lengthed halfwise
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• small handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• lime juice, for serving
• sea salt

Directions

1. Prepare the tomato salsa. Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl. Season with sea salt for taste. Set aside until needed.

2. In a small bowl, beat the eggs. Add the cumin, chilli powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper until well combined.

3. Heat a small pan over low-medium heat and add the olive oil. Scramble the eggs until you have a thick but loosely scrambled egg mixture. Remove from heat immediately.

4. While the eggs are cooking, rinse the beans. Heat a small saucepan over low heat and add the beans to warm them through. Warm a small pan over low heat and add the tortillas to warm them through. 

5. To serve, add one tablespoon of guacamole to each flour tortilla. Spoon in the eggs, followed by the salsa, beans, and cheese. Add a few drops of lime juice and garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Enjoy!

(Most) if the ingredients.

New cutting board day! By clicking the photo you can see the product on Amazon.

Onions that don't make you cry, what?!

Prepping the salsa and eggs.

Choppin' the cilantro.

Warming the beans.

Finished Product!

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"Rise Before the Sun"

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Western Governors University Making Dreams Possible

Modest Beginnings

I come from a very modest background. We were a working-class family in a low-income area. My parents worked right out of high school. There were times that even at a young age I knew we were struggling, but we were blessed in that we never felt hunger, we never worried about where we would be living, and most importantly we never felt unloved.

Mom, Jere (my brother) and me!

Dad and me; he started me on gaming early!

I knew early on that there were many wants I could not have and everything I had, I had to earn. I admit it wasn't without drawbacks. At the time, I felt jealousy. As a teenager, I can remember being angry when I compared what I had to what my friends had and how I had to work to get those things. As a 27-year-old, "things" are quickly losing their value. As a 27-year-old, I'm grateful for my upbringing. I was gifted something that many do not achieve in their lifetime. I was given the gift of perseverance, determination, respect, humbleness.

My parents always pushed me to do more, to do better. I did well in school and they knew they could push me to further my education. I never once thought I wouldn't go to school after high school. I'd be the first in my family to further my education because as modest as my upbringing was, my parents' upbringing was even more so and they did all they could to give me the building blocks to keep going. I had eyes set on a Ph.D.

A Millenial Cliche

I attended a community college for the first two years and earned my Associate of Arts in English and Psychology. I then went on to graduate from Georgian Court University, a wonderful, small school on a beautiful campus. I had no more than ten other students in each class. As an aside, I'd recommend them in a heartbeat to anyone looking for a small, humble environment.

https://georgian.edu/

I began my teaching career in 2014 with my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Elementary Education, along with my teacher of students with disabilities endorsement. I was hired not long after graduating, a gift in and of itself. Still, I, like many, graduated with almost $50,000 in student loan debt, and that was after I received a good amount of funding from scholarships and grants (about $10,000 or so, to be exact).

I worked while attending school and commuted to class. I paid for what I could but the interest was like a black hole. Some of my loans had a 12-16% interest rate and had grown phenomenally since I started school. When my deferment period ended, I was left with a (minimum) $700/month student loan payment. I'm not sure if you know, but teachers don't make much. $700 was almost 30% of my take-home pay. I still had to keep a roof over my head and food in my stomach. My goals of grad school were seemingly abolished. There was no way I could afford to be in any more debt when I was struggling to pay off what I had.

Truth be told, I hunkered down (and am still "hunkering").  Granted, I still don't have many "things" but I never worry about bills being paid or food being on the table. I've managed to pay of $20,000 in two years (I'll do another post and link to this one on how I've done this with some financial tips I wish I knew before starting school).

I still have over half to go but I've been chugging along. I've been asked a few times about going to grad school but my answer has always been, "I'd love to but just can't afford it." Or, "I'd love to, but I'm still paying student loans." It's disheartening. I'm getting older, I'll want to start a family soon. I had given up on the idea of going to grad school. Besides finances, I was already short on time and just plain tired whenever I did have any. Not only was/am I a millennial cliche, but a teacher cliche as well. Overworked, overtired, and paycheck to paycheck.

WGU to the Rescue

I can't remember how I first came across Western Governor's University - perhaps an ad in Facebook was listening to someone ask me the previous questions haha (but not really). I saw them around 2016 and it was something in the back of my mind that would pop up every so often. I knew they were online and that it would work with my schedule. This past year around June/July I started to really look into them. What I saw left me in disbelief. Around $3,000 for six months of (unlimited) credits. No pay $500 per credit like the other schools I had researched. $3000, flat fee, everything you can fit in six months time. There have been people to complete programs in the first six months! Fully accredited (believe me, I checked with my district and researched like crazy). They had an exact program I wanted (M. Ed. Learning Design & Technology). It was all too good to be true, there had to be a catch. I decided to make the call.

Guess what. There's no catch. It's all real. They're extremely professional and there are loads of student services in place to maximize student success. I applied, was accepted, and I started September 1st (that's flexible, too). So far, I'm loving my experience. I've just wrapped up my fourth course with two months to go before my first semester ends. I'm hoping to finish another 2-3 before then! Last month, I received a WGU Excellence Award. Talk about a confidence booster. Here I was not even six months ago dragging my feet about not being able to achieve this goal. Now I'm enrolled, kicking a** and receiving an Excellence Award to boot!

I can't stress enough how much you should check them out if you're thinking of going back to school. If you're interested in learning more, check out this referral link:  https://www.wgu.edu/landing/referfriend4

For now, I'm off to make dinner!

Jess

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A Dog's Day Out

Firstly, happy new year!

Here in NJ there was a powdering of snow recently. What better way to enjoy it than with your pup at your side? Jett and I decided on a little adventure to a couple local parks.

I suited up in my ski pants (it's under 20 degrees, I get a pass!) and Jett put on his flannel. We visited one of my favorite parks which runs along the Canal. It's beautiful in all seasons and usually there are not many people when I go. We plodded along in the snow towards the water before I realized my fingers were losing sensation. Ouch.

Jett overlooking the canal.

We steered away from the chilly breeze blowing off of the icy canal and veered towards the arboretum. To my pleasant surprise, there were no footprints to be seen aside from the random rabbit and bird trails. We spent the next few moments wandering among the snow-covered trees in the peace and quiet of a cold winter day. That is until Jett decided his tootsies had had enough and we made our way back to the car. Our day wasn't over, yet! As a reactive dog owner, I find myself often running into the problem of finding spaces for my pup to let loose without worrying about the possibility of an incident. I try to avoid any situations this may occur (for better or for worse). In response, Jett and I have to get a little creative with our adventures. On our way home I decided to take a chance on a new park we had yet to explore. This is the best part of moving, learning the parks and natural habitats of a new area! As I turned into the drive, I realized the snow had not been plowed yet and there were a few empty parking lots and not a soul in sight. Score. With safety concerns out of the way, I grabbed hold of the e-brake and in a moment Jett and I were spinning in a controlled, slippery fashion! Ok, ok, I may have enjoyed it more than he did. I looked back at a face akin to this: -_- . Hey, I did say the Fiesta was a blast didn't I?

"STanley" in all his glory. Click for Redbubble products of this image!

Oops!

We wobbled out of the car to an enclosed skate park. Double score. I closed the gate behind me and off we went through the slippery snow. Both of us tried to run up ramps only to slide back down! I busted my butt a few times, much to his amusement (I swear dogs can laugh!). Now Jett and I cuddled up inside after a couple hours of fun. If only he could have a cup of hot chocolate with me!

It was great to be able to let loose and be a kid again. Who am I kidding, a huge reason I love my job is that I only have to be a grown-up about 25% of the time. As I grow older, I begin to become more carefree in my actions and I'm so much happier for it. If we could all let go and let our inner child shine, the world would inevitably be a much happier place.I hope this new year everyone sets their inner child free.