Teaching Fashionably ~ What I Wore

Top: Ann Taylor LOFT

Skirt: J. Crew

Shoes: Soft

You might remember at the beginning of the month I created this inspiration board on Polyvore to get your opinion on what I was planning to wear. What do you think of the real-life outfit that came of it?

First Day at IU by ashleyhasty featuring freshwater pearl earrings

Reflections on My First Day of Teaching

I taught my first class a college professor yesterday at 11:15am. Everything was going very smoothly: I introduced myself, the students introduced themselves and told me a little bit about what they did this summer and what they want to do after college, we were getting good banter going back and forth. I went over the syllabus and discussed the assignments for the semester. The students seemed to be engaged and excited about the class. Around noon, I was wrapping up my discussion on the syllabus and was answering questions, getting ready to move on to the activity for the day when all of my students got up and started packing their things. My eyes bolted to the classroom clock "surely I didn't spend that much time with introductions and the syllabus!" It was noon. Did my class end at noon? I thought it ended at 12:30...my mind wasn't quick enough. Perhaps the classroom clock was off. Several students came up to me to ask more personal questions so I couldn't check my phone. Surely the entire class wouldn't have packed up if it wasn't time to go. After I finished answering questions and began to pack up my things, I clicked on my phone to see it was just a few minutes after noon. I was so confused. I text messaged my TA and asked her what time the classes ended and her response was "12:30, but it is syllabus week." Syllabus week? Really? Does that mean classes end early? Was this an IU thing that I hadn't heard about yet? Nope, turns out I must have given some indication that class was over. I guess their cue is wrapping up our discussion about the syllabus. Surely there isn't a crazy professor out there who actually wants to make them work on the first day! Ha. I'd be that dreaded professor.

My second class was at 5:45 that evening. I double, triple checked the ending time of the class: 7:00pm. No one would be packing up until I've covered all the material and hosted the class activity. This class was a bit less dynamic. I heard students talking under their breath, whispering to each other. Of course my first thought is: they hate me! They hate this class. Then I had to remember, I'm not that far removed from being a student. I whispered to people next to me and it was never about how much I hated a teacher! They are probably talking about who they want to work with on a group assignment or, more likely, what they are doing after class. This was the class I was feeling less than enthusiastic about and I'm afraid my students caught wind of my personal feelings toward this class. I'm really excited about the project that they are completing, so I hope that comes across! I need to work  harder on making this class fit up to their expectations. They all thought it sounded interesting so why am I not excited about this class?

Finally, this morning at 8am I taught my last "first class" of the semester. I was super excited and inspired about teaching this class. It is another small class and we are in a small room with moveable chairs so we can facilitate group work easily. The students seemed semi-engaged (not as engaged as the first class but more engaged than my second class.) I have quite a few analytical thinkers in this class and it is very creatively centered so I got a few "deer in headlight" looks from those students when I expressed that there are very few right and wrong answers in this class. Students seemed pretty apathetic about the course assignmetns which I thought were SUPER cool. Maybe they just aren't excited about school in general because if they are excited about anything it would be the cool projects that I have planned for this class.

Overall, I had a really great time. Despite the less-than-enthusiastic beginnings, I think the students will come around. I was less nervous than I expected to be, I thought I conducted myself professionally but still approachable. I'm so eager to get to know my students, I hope they really take advantage of my open door! I'd love for them to visit me one-on-one so I can figure out how I can help them reach their goals. It is so frustrating being a teacher, there is no satisfaction. Teachers always want more for their students, their job never ends. And when students want less for themselves than the teacher wants for them, then the frustration is overwhelming. Being a teacher is hard work, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I want my students to love my class, I want them to learn a lot, I want them to be challenged, to be pushed harder than they ever thought possible, and to achieve more than they ever imagined. I also want them to like me. That's the human in me, not the teacher. I'm both human and teacher. Yet, I remember as a student I was less-than-enthusiastic about spending extra time with my teachers. Where is the disconnect?

And then there is tomorrow...

Instagram Linkup: IU Edition

Today is the first day of classes at Indiana University. You may not know that Ashley of A Little Dash of Ash is an alum of IU and a former student of the Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design department, for which I am a lecturer. I thought it would be appropriate to commemorate this special day, my first day as a teacher at IU, by linking to Ashley's weekly Instagram Linkup Party. The following Instagram pictures are pictures I've taken the past month as I prepared for my classes and familiarized myself with the IU Bloomington campus. I am so lucky to be working at such a beautiful campus, enjoy the photos.

Jordan Hall Greenhouse

Sample Gates

The Hoagy Carmichael Landmark Sculpture

Outside of the Indiana University Auditorium

Memorial Hall ~ my office building

Jordan Hall ~ the walk from my parking garage to Memorial Hall

The view outside my office window at Memorial Hall

Storytelling in 30 Photos ~ Day 12

{Storytelling in 30 Photos}

12. a picture from everyday life ~just doing laundry with Huxley.

Crayola Crayons and Polka Dots

This is one of my favorite school pictures. I'm wearing a red and white polka dot top with a ruffle at the hem, matching red pants, and a large red bow in my hair. I imagine that I've paired it with matching red Keds as well. My hair is long and blonde and I have the bangs that were so popular at the time, teased "just so." But this post is less about fashion and more about a pivitol moment in my career: the upcoming first day of teaching.

It is the Friday before school starts. This is my first year as a teacher, and a college teacher no less! I can't help but look back at this school picture (which I believe was for kindergarten? maybe even preschool!) and wonder "where did time go?" Am I not still a kid? Trying to figure out what life is all about? Eager to learn, meet new people, make new friends, play!

The past several weeks have been filled with workshops on using technology in the classroom, how to engage students in discussion, motivating students from the first day and beyond, faculty learning communities, department meetings, area meetings, building assignments, new faculty orientation, meeting with community members and businesses, learning OnCourse and preparing syllabi.

I remember just last year I was a student and my biggest concern was mapping out my class schedule and making sure I knew where my classes were located. Again, I wonder, where did time go?

I'm reading this book for one of my classes called "Fish: a remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results." I'm so ashamed I'm just now getting around to reading it because if you know anything about my family you know that my dad is famous for implementing this philosophy in creating a successful climate at his middle school. My dad was once described as "a bit of legend in the academic world." It is so true. Anyway, I'm getting around to finally reading this book and I realize that the working world doesn't have to be so different from my PreSchool Playground.

Basically, the philosophy is centered around 4 key items:
1. Choose Your Attitude
2. Play
3. Make Their Day
4. Be Present

Choose Your Attitude - if I had a penny for every time this was said to me growing up, I wouldn't have to teach college! ;) Just kidding. But don't we say this to kids all the time? Now Peggy Sue, you have a choice. You can let Jimmy's mean comment make you mad or you can not let it bother you. What are you going to choose?

Play - easy connect. We had designated play time on the playground. Guess what? Now we can play at work! In fact, it is encouraged! Did we choose our line of work because it interested us?

Make Their Day - I used to love bringing my teachers roses from our garden on the first day of school. It was always something special that no other child did. I knew I was making the teacher's day. Now that the roles are reversed, my world is larger and I can make more days! I can make the day of a student, a colleague, a boss, a secretary, a friend, my spouse, my family.

Be Present - you don't see Pre-schoolers checking their email in the middle of a conversation, texting their friends on the playground, or thinking about their to-do list in a meeting. Take a hint from your preschool self and be present, live in the moment!

So I guess not too much has changed since preschool. That gives me some relief! I'm still a kid, learning what the world is all about, meeting new people, making new friends, and, most importantly, playing. Ha, and I'm even playing school! One of my favorite games as a kid. Life is good. :)

Bloomington's Farmers Market

I'm sure I've written 3 posts on the Bloomington Farmer's Market already, but I love it so much it deserves yet another post. As we approach Fall, the goodies I'm finding get better and better! Plus, Eric and I have been on a real healthy eating kick lately and shopping the Farmer's Market is a sure way to keep on track! Plus, shopping local keeps a town thriving! So support your local farmers and eat well at the same time! The Farmer's Market is a quick fix to many problems!

We just discovered Hoosier corn the other week. If you haven't waited in the extremely long line (you can't miss it, it is pretty much the only line at the Farmer's Market) it is worth the wait! Plus, the corn is really inexpensive! We got 6 ears for a few bucks! We also love getting onions, garlic, green, red, and yellow peppers, goat cheese (wow, the goat cheese it GOOD!) and pears. There was a guy handing out free samples of pears last weekend and we ended up buying a basket of them. They are delicious! Oh, and butternut squash is now available and it is amazing. But then, I'm a big fan of butternut squash in general.

Besides all the great local produce, there is also great coffee, delicious places to get breakfast, and it certainly the place to "see and be seen" on a Saturday morning in Bloomington. In fact, we recently made friends in Bloomington and we are meeting up at the Scholar's Inn Bakehouse for breakfast and will be heading to the Farmer's Market afterwards to pick up our produce for the week. I love that we are making our grocery shopping a social event. Oh, and don't miss the Tamales from Feast. They are the best thing I've tasted in decades (and I eat well!)

Let's not forget the flowers! I buy a bouquet of flowers (never more than $6 a bouquet) every week. Nothing brightens a home more than fresh flowers!

What I Wore ~ When Skies are Gray

Top: TJ Maxx

Skirt: J. Crew

Shoes: Mossimo at Target

Necklace: Prairie Blossoms

Movie at Bryan Park

Have I mentioned how incredibly cool Bloomington is? It is totally the coolest city I've lived in. The most recent cool thing? Outdoor movies at Bryan Park! Eric and I saw this event advertised at the Farmer's Market. We couldn't wait until Friday! They have movies scheduled for several weeks.

We came somewhat prepared with a blanket to sit on, a few things to munch on, and a bottle of water. But sitting on the blanket proved to be a bit uncomfortable for 2 hours while watching the movie, so the next day we purchased two stadium seats so that we'll be super comfortable next time.

The movie? Grease! The Sing-a-long version! It attracted a great crowd and it was a ton of fun! We had a fabulous time and we can't wait until next Friday for Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory! Bloomington is so cool!

A Day in the Life of a {New} Hoosier

At the beginning of the summer, I wrote a post about "A Day in the Life of a Post-Grad" using pictures from my iPhone of what I did with my days after graduation. After moving to Bloomington, IN those days changed drastically. No more reading all day, spending afternoons at Starbucks, and sleeping in. Oh no, it is back to the daily grind. So I thought I would cap off the summer with another 'Day in the Life of...' post, this time, "A day in the Life of a New Hoosier."

When Ashley of A Little Dash of Ash started this Instagram Link-Up Party, I knew it was the perfect time to sit down and write this post. Over the course of several days, I took pictures using the Instragram App on my phone throughout the day to compile these pictures:

Each morning begins with Huxley sleepily coming out of his carrier, stretching his front paws, and then his back paws, and then making a running leap on to our bed and snuggling in with us. Sometimes he brings a toy with him, sometimes he just wants to roll around in bed and lick our faces. It is the perfect start to every morning.

After showering and getting ready, sometimes I stop by Stone Cutters Coffee shop. We are so lucky to have a fabulous coffee shop just around the corner from our apartment. I always grab a breakfast burrito to go during the week, and then on the weekends I splurge for a more decadent breakfast such as The French Connection: Hazelnut-Chocolate Nutella, fresh bananas on a toasted croissant. Oh, delish.

If you follow me on Twitter (and if you don't, I'd love to connect with you here) you know I'm in love with and addicted to my Keurig. I actually skip getting coffee at Stone Cutters so that I can make coffee in my Keurig. The coffee is that good. Lately my favorite is Wolf Gang Puck's chef's Reserve. Yum, yum, yum. If you haven't made the plunge and purchased a Keurig, do so now. It will change your life for the better, I guarantee it.

So I've made it to work and I made my coffee. Now time to get down to business. Classes haven't started quite yet (one week from today!) so I'm trying to get ahead on writing lesson plans. I have my syllabi completed for the three classes I'm teaching, I just have to get the daily activities planned out and all the "lectures" uploaded to OnCourse. There is still a lot to be done! I'm at my computer almost all day (unless there are workshops to attend, which I tend to attend a lot.)

Lately I've been attending workshops almost every day. In fact, this week I'm attending multiple workshops every day. Whew. It is crazy busy but I want to absorb as much as I can before classes start. Who knows what my schedule will be like once the students arrive. So you will often find me running from building to building (using my Google Maps app to get me from the one building on campus I know to the rest of campus....and of course, taking pictures along the way.)

Such as this one. I just discovered these are called the Sample Gates. Not sure how they got their name but they are an IU landmark. People like to meet at the "Sample Gates" because everyone knows what and where they are located. So running between workshops I snapped a picture of the Sample Gates primarily because they are absolutely beautiful.

So after all that running around and scrambling to get lesson plans written, I am blessed to come home to this handsome man making dinner for me. And he has made some of the most delicious dinners lately. I sometimes tweet about them (and even blog about them) when I remember to take pictures before devouring the food. Gotta love this guy.

So that is a tour of my day, Instagram style! Bop on over to A Little Dash of Ash for more Instagram posts! And join us next week! We love seeing your Instagram photos. Not following me on Instagram?? Why not?! You can follow me at ashleyhasty through your Instagram iPhone app.

Storytelling in 30 Photos ~ Day 11

{Storytelling in 30 Photos}

11. a person I can tell everything to ~ I'm so lucky to have three people that I trust enough to tell everything to: my Mom, my Dad, and my husband. Their love and guidance get me through life.

Senior Pictures

Ah, senior photos. I SO looked forward to having my senior photos taken. No big surprise there. As you've heard many times before I love being around a camera, it doesn't matter if I'm in front or behind it. But I pretty much have a camera on me at all times. And thank the genius who invented the camera phone because it is my best friend. My second best friend is the genius who invtented Instagram, but that is for another post.

This picture was actually taken by a photographer in St. Louis. I think I ended up with three different photographers taking my senior pictures. This guy was a friend of my Dad's and gave us a good deal. He ook most of my themed photos, or photos that reflected what I was interested in during my high school years. As you can tell, I was most interested in ice skating. I started ice skating almost immediately after moving to Jefferson City from Columbia. It was THE thing to do in Jefferson City, and as far as I was concerned, the ONLY thing to do in Jefferson City.

A few years after taking group and private lessons, I joined Capital Classics, a synchronized ice skating team. Boy, was I over the moon. I could not wait to have my very own Capital Classics wind jacket. All the popular girls in my elementary school had one and I was so excited to have one of my own. Little did I know it would become the jacket I would wear more hours of my life than any other. I slowly worked my way up to the Teen Team, the top dogs. Again, I was on top of the world. This was me in my element. I was never very competitive, I just loved to ice skate, be with great people, and wear pretty dresses. So synchronized skating was absolutely perfect for me.

After I graduated from high school, I returned to the Capital Classics for 2 years and coached the beginning team. Those were some great years. I really enjoyed coaching and would love to get back into it. But I just couldn't keep making the drive back to Jefferson City and keep up with my college activities. It was the most difficult decision I'd had to make. But eventually I left the Capital Classics and I haven't been ice skating since. Can you imagine? I still have my skates, I need to try out the ice arena here in Bloomington and see if I can even keep my balance anymore.

Yes, I think I'll add that to my list of things to do.

An Update on Huxley

Huxley hasn't been feeling well the last couple of days. Poor little guy got neutered on Tuesday. Everything I've read says it is best to neuter your dog, but I have to say, I hated putting little Huxley through the trauma of surgery. When I left him on Tuesday morning (I had to go to work, Eric was left to drop Huxley off at the vet.) he looked like this:

Happy, chipper, full of energy. This is the Huxley Eric and I have grown to love since adopting him in May. He just hates it when one of us leaves the apartment, so he rings his bell (which is supposed to only be used when he needs to go to the bathroom) when it is obvious one of us is getting ready to leave. So Eric brought Huxley down to say good-bye and this is the last image I have of Huxley before surgery.

When I returned home on Tuesday, I come home to this sad, tired puppy with a cone around his head. My heart ached for the little guy. He didn't even wag his tail when he saw me. I wanted to cry. For most of the evening on Tuesday Huxley just laid on the floor. He neither wanted to lay with us on the sofa nor let us pet him. He didn't want to chew on his favorite bone or eat his favorite treats. I thought we had made a mistake by getting him neutered.

To make matters worse, Huxley couldn't fit in his kennel with the cone on his head. The kennel is supposed to be a puppy's safe place. A place where he can go to feel comforted and soothed. And here we couldn't let him in his kennel because without the cone on his head he would lick his wound. Again, my heart was broken for the little guy. He kept looking at me with these sad eyes that seemed to ask "Mom, why would you do this to me?"

We quickly realized the cone that the vet gave us wasn't large enough to keep Huxley's long tongue from reaching his wound. We had to buy a bigger cone to make sure Huxley's wound would heal properly.

Does this not make your heart ache? He can barely keep his head up with the thing on. He gets tired really easily and just plops to the ground. Ugh, that first night was really difficult. The next morning, however, I was greeted by a smiling, tail-wagging, happy puppy!

Huxley is doing much better now. He still has to wear the massive cone on his head, until the wound has had time to heal or until Huxley can control himself from licking the wound. But he is playful, he is back to his old eating habits, and he is giving kisses and wagging his tail. We are still in the recovery process but I'm happy to report he is much much better than he was on Tuesday night!

I am sorry I had to put Huxley through that pain, but I am comforted knowing that neutering a puppy increases his well-being and prolongs his life expectancy. A few days of pain is worth more years with this wonderful, loving, perfect boy! :)

What I Wore ~ Professors in Pigtails

Tank Top: J. Crew

Jacket: Ann Taylor LOFT

Skirt: J. Crew

Shoes: Relish

Necklace: Tiffany and Co.