Heat. Loss.

I was just wondering what to blog about today when I heard a sickening 'crack' coming from the kitchen. My oven was very, very hot,  recommended for my favorite  herb crusted pork roast recipe. It would be turned lower after a half hour.

Apparently it was too hot for my beloved stoneware. Why I chose to use it today instead of my dutch oven, I'll never know.

I hadn't considered the temperature limits of my stoneware pan when I placed it in the oven.

Rest in pieces. Ugh.

I see another Pampered Chef party in my future..

Carry On and Keep Calm

Wow. I read over my last post and it was obvious I wrote that in the heat of the moment, or close to it.  Today I don't dislike Google Forms as much anymore. In fact, I actually figured it out and think that this app might be my friend, after all. Yes, I could have started over with another document creating program but instead I decided to work through the issues I was having.

My initial reaction to this frustration reminded me a lot of what children do when facing a challenge. Let's face it, sometimes adults act like children (yeah, me).

What happens when a child is frustrated? Voices rise. Harsh, loud words are spoken, often without forethought.  Stomping feet are heard. Doors are slammed. Withdrawal. Feeling defeated. Hopeless. Words like 'never' , 'always'  and 'stupid' are spit out once or twice.

So, what have I been reminded of from this experience? There's a better way to handle my frustration when learning new things.

1. Walk away.
2. Come back later when cooled down.
3. Take time to think. Mull over.
4. Ask for help.
5. Try, try again.
6. Baby steps.
7. Share little victories.
8. Celebrate!

 “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” ― Thomas A. Edison

When Technology is like a Pencil in the Eye

I thought I'd be really productive and techy today. But things haven't turned out that way. Here I sit at my computer (it's been a few hours) trying to do my best work, always looking to improve things. That can sometimes be a waste of time.

Each Friday I send out a weekly email to encourage my homeschooling families  and remind them to send me one in return, letting me know about their week-- educational activities, successes, challenges, field trips-- I  then enter all that info into an online database (useful for report card time!)

Today I decided to ramp it up a bit and create a professional online survey using Google Forms. This would both inspire my families to report (one can hope) and elevate my technological abilities.  I've used Survey Monkey in the past and it worked quite well, but I noticed a fellow teacher was using Google forms, so I thought I'd copy her idea. It looked so professional and even inspirational. Her email with the  embedded "Easy Weekly Email" link looked so streamlined. I wanted that.  

It  WAS easy to create.

After about an hour of writing and reworking questions, perfecting them, trying to make the form as user friendly as possible, choosing the perfect template (this might be the most important step, so it takes time!), I was ready to send it off Whoosh! into the great unknown (cyberspace) where emails and blog posts often sometimes lose their way. I figured out how to find and then embed  the survey link. I sent out a 'test' survey response.  This is a step not to be missed and am I glad I took the time! I couldn't  for the life of me find where my response ended up. And don't even ask me where my original survey ended up! Google Drive, I don't really like you at all.

 An hour passes.  Starting to feel a wee bit cranky, maybe even 'hangry' ( hunger wed with anger..not pretty!)

Then, I finally locate the responses button , but the info won't compile and present the way I had envisioned. No, please NO spreadsheets!!!!  I HATE, DETEST, LOATHE spreadsheets for reading and printing out info. The columns are narrow and hide information. Reams of unnecessary paper often get printed. I want  the data returned to me in the pretty, eye catching, clear way I had sent it out, so that I could easily copy and paste. Apparently that's too much to ask.

I spend too much time googling Google for answers to my questions.

Well, it feels like the day is over and  I've just wasted a Friday afternoon. I haven't even written my weekly email yet, and now it's going to be uninspired, like overcooked, lukewarm noodles and cheese. I won't be able to impress my online families with my technological prowess, and all of you who know me are probably now shocked at my lack of computer skills.  Now you know, I wasn't hired for my techy skills!

At least I got a blog post out of the ordeal.

I think I'll just go raid the fridge (after I pull the pencil out of my eye).