Penny Thoughtful: All Things Books and Running
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Twelve Goals – Lighten the Load
After several weeks with weightier, more in-depth posts, I want to pull back and revisit my yearly goals. Although it is not quite halfway through the year, I consider this my mid-year check-in since the actual halfway mark will find me in the throes of preparing to galavant around Europe for nearly a month. In…
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Saying Goodbye
In two days, I will walk out the doors of my school as an employee for the last time. I knew that this day might come but always hoped that it would not. Even with all of the chaos, inconsistency, and lack of communication, I knew that I had found a place where my heart…
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Relationship Building and Field Trips
When this post goes live, I will be somewhere in the nation’s capital, guiding 29 seventh graders through history, opening their eyes, hopefully, to things they have never seen before. This trip marks the fifth field trip I have organized, led, or participated in this school year. Many teachers look at field trips as burdens…
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Downhill at Dawn Half Marathon
Race #168 Half Marathon #58 2019 Race #12 2019 Half Marathon #7 North Carolina Half Marathon #8 Downhill at Dawn Half Marathon #1 I registered for this race in early March, shortly after deciding to volunteer as a chaperone for the band and orchestra Carowinds trip rather than run the Mountains to Main Street Half…
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Politics and Education
Over the past couple years, a protest movement has spread across the country, driven primarily by classroom teachers. Some well-known protests and strikes took place in the following states and cities. In Oklahoma, teachers left the classroom in strike for over a week. Several other states, like West VIrginia, followed shortly thereafter. This past January,…
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Thought Provoking History and Beauty
When one mentions Utah, the hearer’s mind usually goes in one of two directions. The hearer either pictures the famous national parks in the south of the state or more likely, they think of Mormons and all associated with the religion. When one goes so far as to say that you have chosen Utah as…
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Lessons Learned from a Spring Break Adventure
Months ago, I decided that I wanted to run a marathon to start spring break and make a vacation out of it. Last year, I stayed home for break but after a year I started itching to travel again. I searched for marathons that fit the bill and found Salt Lake City. From there ,…
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Hard Work Pays Off
A few weeks ago, my students took their third quarter benchmark, a test covering all of the required state standards and intended to predict student results on the official state tests coming up in a little less than a month. I will not rehash my opinion on high stakes testing here. Rather, I want to…
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King’s Mountain Half Marathon 2019
Race #167 Half Marathon #57 2019 Race #11 2019 Half Marathon #6 South Carolina Half Marathon #43 King’s Mountain Half Marathon #1 Originally I thought about running a 5 miler that is part of a local trail series. However, I could never find where to register for this race. I have a thing for half…
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Up in Flames
Nearly eight years ago, I boarded the Eurostar headed to Paris. A long time Anglophile, I designated a single day for a quick tour of the most prominent Parisian landmarks such as the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame. At that time, I had little to no patience for lines.…
Got any book recommendations?