Link-tacular

I'm loving all the blogs I read. Seriously, I must subscribe to over a hundred- and I really do read them all! Probably not every post, every day, but I keep them in my google reader and don't mark them as read until I catch up. I can't help it- I love, love, love reading what other people are doing. I really believe in collaborating with my peers and sharing ideas, and I like to think of the blogosphere as a giant PLC. So, to celebrate that, this is my link-tacular post!

Layota at Flying into First is weekly hosting the "Let's get acquainted" linky party. 

I'm a couple days late with it, but I just discovered it today! The prompt this week is "share three things about yourself that you like or like to do using your initials."

My initials are MLB... here it goes!

M

Massachusetts. My home state! Don't get me wrong, not everything here is sunshine and puppy dogs. We get really cold weather in the winter, our state testing puts a lot of pressure on our students, and the cost of living and taxes are pretty high. The good so far outweighs the bad, though. I am so proud to live in a state that values education. We are the home of the first public school in the United States, and some of the finest universities in the country. As a state, we have upheld civil rights and been progressive in helping those who need it. To top it off, who doesn't love the home of the Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, and Patriots? Some of the best sports teams around! We may joke about moving to warmer weather, but I will always be a Bay Stater at heart.

L 

Lattes. If you hadn't guessed by my blog title, I love coffee. Seriously, any kind. Espresso, latte, macchiato, americano. The only caveat- it has to be iced, no matter the temperature. 102 degrees or 2 degrees, I want to drive my coffee cold and with a straw. Weird, I know. I drink two giant 32 oz iced coffees every day... three on the weekends! Then I wonder why I can't sleep at night.... :)

B

Books. Who doesn't love them? You can get lost in a book and forget your troubles. You can read the words of literary icons that have long since passed. You can be transformed. It's funny, but so often the mood of the book I am reading dictates my own mood. I can't think any other medium that speaks to me the way the written word does. My newest obsession has been ebooks. I live in a very small house and already filled a room with bookcases, so I wasn't able to buy any more books. Since I have a nook, I can download ebooks instead of purchasing phsyical copies of books. No storage required! Part of me was sad to let go of paper books, but I embrace technology and really love having 20 books in my purse (on my nook) all the time. 

Traci at Dragonflies in First is hosting another great linky party!

What's the best teaching advice you ever received? 

For me, the best advice I ever received was from my mentor teaching during student teaching. She told me that there will be days that I would think I was a great teacher, and doing it all right. There would be other days that I felt like a terrible teacher, messing everything up. She told me not to take it personally, and to understand the ebb and flow of the classroom. As long as you are putting your best into it, that is all you can do. This advice has helped me through many, many a stressful day! If the lesson fails, just keep swimming. If you have an unannounced observation while moving seats (this happened!) just smile and roll with it. 

Finally, I linked up my "I can" statement printables with Love2Learn2Day for Math Monday!

Off to grade math tests... the fun never ends! :)