For the last 8 years I worked at a local education organization. My role was an Instructional Technology Specialist, which in theory works with teachers on integrating technology using relevant educational strategies. Over the course of my work in the organization I have grown and seen different ways that technology could benefit learners. However the demands being put on educational organizations in general has also changed. Education in the United States is once again being put under the microscope.

So awhile back there was a Google Doodle that was for Les Paul's birthday. One of the cool things about this was that you could record your doodle. So I figured I would share my little jingle in honor of Les Paul.

So I managed to get some time today to upgrade to Drupal 7. Seems like a lot of things went okay, while a few things haven't. I have to work on getting the Image Galleries and images working again. I am guessing it is all about creating a content type, luckily I have a back up of the old site that I think I can reference without too much trouble.

As always I tend not to do my do diligence when doing upgrades here at home. I always feel rushed and usually don't create a test environment to try it on. Oh well, lessons learned :)

So we have started a New Year, or I have made it through another one. It all depends on your perspective. Either way one of the things that the New Year brings is opportunity. Those opportunities often take the shape of resolutions. This year I have a few that I want to work on myself. A few of them are personal growth pieces related to my personal life others are related to my professional life.

So here they are:

1. Learn Processing to extend the work I did by taking my Intro to Java Class.

Well the new school year is finally here! Adding to the excitement is the fact that I just purchased a new car as well. I had been driving around my 2002 Mazda with a bit of a muffler problem and it was in need of new tires.

Since the car was getting up there in years I decided that instead of putting $1000 into repairs it might be wiser to put that towards a down payment. Well this lead to the search for a new car.

Wow is it really August already? I swear this Summer has flown by... I haven't accomplished nearly half of the things that I had hoped.

This Summer has been quite eventful for me. It started out with a trip in June at the end of the school year to my Aunt and Uncle's down in Nashville TN for a little bit of a family reunion. This was a short and enjoyable trip, though next time I probably will try to stay a little longer. From there it was off

Well I have to say that one thing that I have struggled with in the house has been the light fixture that is over the dining room table. I actually like the fixture itself, though someone else doesn't , but it had been missing one of the glass globes. So I have been on the hunt for a replacement.

So it has been about a year since I have been in my house. So what have I done since then? Well according to Kat NOTHING! Though I do debate that fact.

Of course we have the wireless and wired installed, which to me is important. I have painted the kitchen, the living room and my office. Installed crown molding in the living room. Put up a motion detecting light on the garage. Put in a new gas line for a gas dryer, and haven't blown anything up yet!

So we had a few inches of snow here in Rochester over the last few days. Friday to Saturday we had 14" to be exact. It was great! I have to say I still enjoy that I get snow days, granted most of it was spent shoveling.

It was funny to me though that we actually had a snow day, as often times everyone is hoping and is simply disappointed. That is what I thought was going to happen, but as you can see from the pictures below we did have enough snow. I actually would have had to call into work if I had to go in, as I would have been running late.

Okay, okay, okay, so I am not any type of artist at this stage in my life. I dream about being able to draw so that I can do some neat things with the computer. Unfortunately the amount of time and skill it takes to become a decent artist are things that I lack at this time. Though I do try!