35W Bridge

Very dark and far away, but I like it!

I took this picture last night down by Saint Anthony Falls. The bridge lights up in blue ontop, but underneath colors like red and purple are captured. I did not know this but, this is the first segment of Interstate highway in the US to be illuminated with LED lighting. Lot's of lives were lost the day the old bridge collapsed, but the state did a beautiful memorial plaque and bridge in memory of the lives lost.

LMNO Peas

This book is too cute for words. The story goes through the whole alphabet with pea's dressed up illustrating different professions and doing different jobs. As an adult I enjoyed it and my Kindergarten class enjoyed it just as much.

This is not your typical ABC book, it's much more exciting. Here is an excerpt from the book: "We're eaters, electricians and explorers searching land..We're hikers, inventors and investigators... We're pilots, parachutists, were peas and.. we're quilters." Then in the end they ask WHO ARE YOU?

Five Little Chicks

I won this book a few months ago from a contest put on by Little One Books. I had never read the book or heard of the author, but it is a very cute spring story. I have used it with toddlers and my Pre- K class which is 3 and 4 year olds. The chicks go out in search of food to eat. One chick goes out first and then the second comes to join and so on (counting). The food they find are things the kids would see in the spring like worms, ladybugs, a red strawberry. That isn't what chickens are supposed to eat and Pre- K got that right away. At the end of the story, the chicks run to the patch and peck all day in the corn patch with mama. What I liked most about this book was that I was able to adjust the level to challenge both the toddlers and Pre- K with comprehension questions, counting, colors, and applying the story to real life concepts they are familiar with.

Beautiful Oops!

I bought this book a couple years and I love it. The book is about taking every mistake or "oops" situation and using it as an opportunity to make something beautiful. For example, a bent piece of paper can be made into a Penguin or a paint spill can turn into a dog with puppies. The book is about art, but it can be interpreted into so much more and applied to whatever stage of life you are in. 

"When you think you have made a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make something beautiful!" -Barney Saltzberg

Teacher

 

If you are a teacher, you know you've been here! I feel like this has been almost every lesson in the past few weeks, but summer is almost here!!

Cloudette

I student taught in Kindergarten this Spring and during our weather unit this was one of the books I referenced to teach about clouds and rain. I had never heard of it before, but it is an adorable story about a little cloud who thinks she is too small to make a different. She ends up finding her purpose- there are lots of things a little cloud can do! 

I asked my students a series of questions:

1. By looking at the cover, what do you think the book will be about?

2. Who can raise their hand and tell me what the book was about? 

3. What are some big and important things a cloud can do?

4. What kind of cloud is Cloudette?

5. What can you tell me about a Cumulus cloud? 

We created a class book after reading the story. They were to draw their favorite important thing a cloud can do and write a sentence about it. I'll try to remember to post pictures later, they turned out cute!

Is There Really a Human Race?

Some of you may know I am an Early Childhood major and I am obsessed with children's literature. I am always looking for new books to read and last weekend my sister bought me this book. I love Jamie Lee Curtis' books she is able to tap into the child's mind and create a book that both children and adults will love. This book is no different as she addresses the fact that everyone is different and were all making the world a better place one step at a time. The book is written in question format which is suiting because the average 4 year old asks over 400 questions a day and that's how they learn. 

Here's an excerpt from the end of the book:

Sometimes it's better not to go fast.

There are beautiful sights to be seen when you're last.

Shouldn't it be that you just try your best? 

And that's more important than beating the rest?

Shouldn't it be looking back at the end

that you judge your own race by the help that you lend? 

I love that part, leave it to a child to point out how the world should be! 

PH Lab

Cooking the Cabbage Juice.

Setting up the experiment.

Baking Soda and Cabbage Juice.

Pretty cool, layer of soap on the bottom, Cabbage juice in the middle, and soap on top.

Dish washing Soap.

Lysol Kitchen Cleaner.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Ammonia and Cabbage Juice.

Laundry Detergent.

Vinegar turned pink.

Soy Milk- It's actually a pale green color.

Apple Juice and Cabbage Juice.

Here we have (left to right) Baking Soda, Soda Pop, Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Dishwasher Detergent, and Laundry detergent.

Then it’s Apple Juice, Vinegar, Lysol Kitchen Cleaner, Milk, and Ammonia.

Red color (Very Acidic): Apple juice (peach), Dishwashing Soap (red, purple), Vinegar (hot pink), and Soda pop (orange)

 Purplish color (neutral): Laundry Detergent (bright blue)

 Green/ Yellow (basic): Ammonia (neon yellow), milk (ivory), kitchen cleaner (green), baking soda (teal but more green than blue), and toilet bowl cleaner (light green). 

 

For me, the coolest part of this experiment was seeing what color the product would turn when it get's mixed with cabbage juice. 

In case you are interested in doing this experiment:

At home:
Cut up a couple of leaves of red cabbage, place in a small pot on the stove and cover with about 1.5 to 2 cups of water. Boil the cabbage for about 5-10 minutes until the solution has a dark purple color. Allow the contents to cool and then decant the liquid into another container; a glass jar would be ideal. This is your acid/base indicator
Testing the products
1. Collect 10 containers that can be used to test the household items. The containers should preferably be clear glass but could also be a small white bowls or anything that allows you to clearly observe the color. In the lab, vials will be provided.
2.    Test each product see how it changes the color of the red cabbage solution. To test a liquid, pour a few mL (about 1-2 tablespoons) in a container and along with the same amount of cabbage extract. To test a solid, dissolve a small amount of the solid in a few mL of water and then add cabbage extract.
3.    Compare the color of your mixture to the picture provided and record the pH. 4.    Repeat this procedure for all of the household items on the list. 5.    If you are doing the experiment at home, take digital pictures of yourself with
at least three of the colored solutions in which the colors are clearly visible. The pictures should include at least one very basic solution (green end of the spectrum) and one very acidic solution (red end of the spectrum). Be sure to indicate what the solutions are.
6.    Place a small amount of cabbage juice indicator in a clear glass container. (In the lab, a beaker will be provided.) Use a straw to blow bubbles through it. You may or may not see the solution change color. (Results will vary and may depend upon how concentrated your cabbage juice is as well as how acidic or basic it is to start, variables which are difficult to control.) If you do see a color change, note, in particular, whether your breath caused the solution to become more basic or more acidic.
Explanations
The colors you see come primarily from a class of compounds called anthocyanins. The anthocyanins are responsible for the reds and purplish colors of autumn. They are also found in summer leaves of plants such as red cabbage, red lettuce, red plum; flowers such as, roses, geraniums, dark pansies; fruit such as, cherries, red apples, grapes, tomato, plum; roots such as, beets and radishes; bulbs such as, red onion and petioles, such as, rhubarb. These anthocyanins are water-soluble and dissolved in the cell sap. If the cell sap of a leaf is acidic then the anthocyanins show a red color. If the cell sap is less acidic then the anthocyanins appear purple.
Cabbage juice contains anthocyanins. As the cabbage juice is exposed to different pH solutions, the anthocyanins show different colors. Very acidic solutions will turn the anthocyanins to a red color. Neutral solutions will result in a purplish color. Basic solutions will appear in the green-yellow region of color. Therefore, it is possible to determine a solution 1⁄2s pH on the basis of the color it causes the anthocyanin pigments in red cabbage juice to turn.

Deer

My friend sent me this... Pretty much sums up what happened.

On Tuesday night around 8:30- 8:45, I hit a deer. I was driving home from church like I've done hundreds of times. I was on 694 between the Anoka and 35W exit. It was a construction zone so the lanes were narrow. There was a barrier and I was driving right next to the barrier. I thought I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I don't even remember if I had time to look over and the next thing I know this giant brown thing hit the drivers side hood/ mirror. I was going 60mph. The deer fell in between the barrier and my car and rode it out. He was fumbling around and parts of my car were flying off. It all happened so fast I just kept thinking, "Did that really just happen and please tell me that was a deer!" It looked like a deer, but with all this Amy Senser stuff I started panicking. The deer got up and ran across probably to die in the woods. My airbag didn't deploy and nothing was in the way of my wheel so I kept driving. I got my car to my best friends house and she was dying of laughter. She hit a deer years ago and never got her car fixed so she was pretty excited our cars looked the same. I was not amused- just sunk in the drivers seat. I just spent $7000 in repairs on my car and now this happened. I freak when this car gets a scratch and now a scratch was the least of my concerns. 

Luckily, I had Wednesday off so I called the insurance company. They asked when it happened, the city, were there any passengers, any prior damage on the car, did I call the cops, where the damage is and many other q's I can't remember. I still don't know, are you supposed to call the cops? I only have a $250 deductible on my car. I didn't know that, but was so grateful to see it was that low. My State Farm Agent gave me the number for American Auto Body in Brooklyn Park- they have free loaner cars and I don't have rental car coverage on my policy. On Friday State Farm called me to see if i had taken my car, to ask how I was, and go over the process for fixing my vehicle. Friday afternoon I took my car in and they gave me a Ford Fusion. I am in love with this car! Awesome stereo, great gas mileage (I drive an SUV so I'm used to 15 mpg), and all the controls are on my steering wheel! The car is very quiet (mine has a loud transmission) and it can go from 0 to 60 pretty darn fast! It's going to be hard to give it back :) I'll find out tomorrow how bad the damage was and if the radiator or anything in the engine is affected. The only thing I noticed was my blinker was blinking super fast, but by the next day it worked like normal again. 

I walked away completely fine and I am so grateful for that. Luckily, there were no cars behind me or to the side of me- the accident could have been so much worse. Someone was most definitely watching out for me!

Headlight points up into the sky and blinker fell off.

Best view of the damage.

Part above my tire totally cut- barely holding on. Lots of hair too!

2007 Ford Fusion

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mom's out there!

Here's the card I made for mine. I also got her Thymes lotion- $25 a bottle, I couldn't believe it!

Front (a little cut off).

Inside is a poem I wrote and a quote I found that fits our relationship perfectly.

The back of the card (a little cut off).

Eagle Brook Church

I'll elaborate more later, but here's the e-mail I just wrote to Eagle Brook Church:

I've been asking a friend to come to Eagle Brook Church with me for at least 9 months. Early Sunday morning we were texting and she said she didn't have to work. I debated asking her if she wanted to go to Eagle Brook. I already went Saturday night and she always says no, but I felt I really needed to ask her one more time. I did and much to my surprise she said yes. If we were going to make the 9 service I needed to get going, we have a 45 minute drive on a good day. She walked in and loved the atmosphere. She could not believe there was a bookstore and a cafe. "Are you serious? You can drink coffee in church?!" We sat up front and she thought the band was great. Then she heard the message and she's been struggling a lot the past five years- She had two miscarriages, got divorced, and basically started her life over with new friends, living on her own, and going back to school. She was in tears over the message and wants to go back next week! I'm glad I didn't stop asking her to come- God was preparing her heart this whole time! Thanks Eagle Brook for encouraging your regular attenders to keep inviting people, it's so easy to get discouraged I really needed that extra push. Thank you for creating an atmosphere where people who haven't been to church in almost 20 years will feel welcome and be able to relate to the message. I grew up Catholic, but fell away during college and finding Eagle Brook was the best thing that has even happened to me. Eagle Brook has changed my life for the better and I can't wait to see how God, Eagle Brook and their messages will work through her. Thanks for all you guys do, we truly appreciate it!!

I also want to add a classmate from my grade school checked out EBC this past weekend and she loved it! She's already talking about volunteering and joining a small group! I'm always amazed at what happens at EBC every weekend! I love watching and hear stories about how God works through people and his church. Keep doing what you're doing Eagle Brook!

Love you all and God bless,

Liz