Motivation and Awesomeness.....

Well, I have just spent several hours over the past couple weeks updating our district's website. I wish I would've logged the hours. That would've been interesting to know.... Except that I'm not finished by any means.

The hardest part is ahead of me.....

See, there is this flash banner on the homepage. The pictures there are outdated and I desperately need to change them. Problem is....well, besides not having many pictures....figuring out how to put 3 together to make a collage then get them to the appropriate size. Uploading them and placing them on the site is no problem.....got that figured out. But this editing part is a bear. Sure wish I had some step-by-step directions on the Photoshop part. Perhaps this "Google Power Searcher" can just Google it and find out!

I've been trying. I have Photoshop Elements on my computer and it's kind of complicated. I attended a Photoshop workshop one time that a friend presented but that was 3 or 4 years ago and I've slept since then.

So, I will continue to plug away and see what I can come up with. I keep telling myself if I can get 1 figured out, I should be able to crank out 3 or 4 in no time. Problem is cranking out the first one!

It's coming to the end of July which means we start school in less than a month. It also means that all those things around our house that I wanted to do over the summer  -- that I put off -- are needing to be done.....QUICK!

We do have a few accomplishments under our belts though. We did get the flooring in the living room installed....and it looks great, I may add. Our bathroom project is coming to an end too. The ceiling is finished and it's painted. Now I need to get the new trim measured, cut, painted, and put up. Ugh. And this heat is not a motivating factor in the least.....

My attention has been turned to school. It's going to be an interesting year I think. Lots of changes have been made and people are starting to get settled in a bit. Most importantly, the changes that have been made are good for kids. Afterall, that's the bottom line. Over the past 25 years, I have seen teachers lose focus on what's good for kids and redirect it to what's best for them. If I ever start thinking that way, somebody tell me to retire. As I have grown and matured in my career, I have come to realize that we have to do whatever it takes to help kids. Even if it's breaking down our own beliefs about how a kids should act, what they should know, etc.

There's someone I follow on Twitter who every morning ends his post with "be awesome today". Isn't that cool? What if we said that to kids every morning before their day starts? What if we parents would say that to our kids before they walked out the door? How about bus drivers as the kids were getting off the bus? How about the cook as the kids go through the breakfast line to get their tray? Right before we release the students from the gym to go to their classrooms? What if we posted signs and banners all over our school as constant reminders for EVERYBODY in the building -- visitors included -- to BE AWESOME TODAY! I think I've just hit upon an idea! Alright, gotta remember that one! Excuse me, I have to go design a poster now......

This is the stuff I think about at 11 p.m. (now)....and in the shower......and at 3 o'clock in the morning.....

Up there in the beginning of this post, I mentioned something about Google Power Searcher.....well, here's the scoop on that.....

A couple weeks ago, Google advertised an online course that one could participate in to become a Google Power Searcher. Because I am all things Google, I signed up.....afterall, it was free and it was Google.....did I mention I love Google? Today I completed the course with flying colors. It was fun. There were six lessons that taught participants how to maximize their Google searches. I'm so glad I took it. Now I wish I was teaching computers this year. They gave a lot of great information.....enough for a couple weeks of instruction on a very important concept. I might have to come back and teach that to the computer classes anyway. I'm sure the teachers won't mind......

Thanks for joining me! And don't forget......

BE AWESOME TODAY!