About a month ago I was not doing well. I went to the doctor and had some blood work done and tests run to figure out why I was not able to keep up with my day-to-day. The test results came back two weeks ago. It turns out I am unable to process a lot of food including gluten, dairy, eggs, artificial preservatives and many other things. Also, my hormones are all out of balance, basically my body is all out of whack and full of inflammation. So I decided that day to change my life. I have three beautiful babies to keep up with and a busy schedule with working almost full-time and going to school part-time (plus my hubby, cheer, church, etc.). I need to be able to keep up with my world!!
Even though I knew it was going to be tough I decided to change my diet. I cut out the gluten, the dairy, eggs, potatoes and all of the other things that were on my list as "no"! I also started taking supplements to ensure that I was getting the nutrition and maintaining hormone balance that I needed.
It hasn't been easy. I have to make just about everything that I eat. I can no longer go to sonic or McDonald's and grab and go. I have to carefully plan out each meal to make sure that I'm not getting anything that's gonna make me sick. This past weekend we went to Whole Foods and Publix and picked up a bunch of wonderful things. On Sunday my husband and I spent two hours just preparing meals for the week.
I will say over the past two weeks that I have felt better than I have in a long time. My energy and my focus is returning this past week I lost 2 1/2 pounds without even trying. I am on the right track. ButIt's not easy living this way; it's not easy to feed children who also have food restrictions. But this is our life and we are going to be healthy. So each day I'm going to write in and tell you how I'm feeling and give you some food ideas as to what I'm eating and maybe it will help someone who is dealing with the same things that I am. It is extremely overwhelming to get a diagnosis like this. But slowly step-by-step you get through it! Until tomorrow....
I did not grow up in a world where everyone had a Facebook page or smart phone. Those things didn't come until I was an adult. So it is interesting to see how...bold and open people are on their social media pages. It is so important to always remember that you never know who is looking through your pictures, or reading your blog! But most importantly, you have to be aware that whatever you put "out there", is probably going to stay "out there" forever! Recently, I went back over my social media pages and made sure my pictures and posts were secure. I also googled myself. If you haven't done that, I would highly recommend it. Apparently there is a very good Dermatologist with the same name, who knew!?! I think it is important to be aware of what is on the internet about you and what people have access to. It is ALWAYS better to be safe, than sorry!
When I am working with children and technology I hope they learn what I mentioned above. I also want them to know that when they go to college or to apply for a job, one of the first things checked is social media pages. I'm the Director of a program at my school and you better believe I am going to look you up before I hire you to work with our children! I hope my students also know that people will pre-judge them before even meeting them, just based by what is online. You are "branding" yourself, positively or negatively, based on what you put out. This is crucial for teachers because those parents are going to be checking in on you! When e-mailing, using social media pages, etc. what is most important is that you treat others how you want to be treated. And I hope my students learn to READ before they SEND!!
Overall, everyone needs to just be careful when it comes to using social media. It is a wonderful tool, but when used inappropriately, it can come back to haunt you!
I hope to gain clarity from my Digital Learning course. I am very familiar with technology, and using technology in and for my classroom. However, I would like to gain confidence and a sense of ease when using this technology. Basically, I want to be able to use it better and faster.
I did not have to create a new blog for this class. This blog was created as an outlet several years ago, but I haven't written on it since 2011, I believe. I do not remember it being overly difficult to set up the blog. With the information that is available today, I was able to quickly set up this blog by using directions I found online. I was also able to make my blog personalized by doing a quick search on Google for backgrounds/templates.
Blogging is a wonderful tool teachers can use to keep in touch with parents. I love the idea of weekly blogging about the class and its adventures. It would be a useful way for the parents to feel more involved and an easy way for the teacher to help everyone stay connected. Also, I can see a blog being a great way for parents to quickly check class assignments, dates, trips, etc. Also, the teacher can easily post pictures to share! I know on this type of blog, Blogger, you can set the blog to private and only those you invite via e-mail can have access.
