New York Thanksgiving 2010

We planned on staying in Boston for the Holiday, but my cousin Chris lives in New York so we decided to visit him, as well as my Aunt Michelle and Uncle Tim who flew in for the holidays. We were only there for two days, but we had an awesome time. When we weren't walking we were eating, and generally just taking everything in at all other times. It really is a huge city, with so much to see--pictures don't do it justice. It was nice that we were able to be with family on the Holiday, even though we're so far away from home. Thanks again Aunt Michelle, Uncle Tim, and Chris for having us out, we had a great time!

Kasia and me in Times Square. This was right after we had arrived from the bus trip. Tim, Michelle, and Chris picked us up at the subway station and we were off to see the sights from there.

 

This was a ferris wheel inside of Toys R Us in Times Square.

Iron Man at Toys R Us. He passed by pretty quick, but Kasia was able to snap this photo.

Kasia wanted a picture in Lolli-pop Land.

The cup in the top right is actually steaming.

Kasia pointing to the M&Ms that were our wedding color.

Pretty cool chess set. I want to say it was around $400.

Macy's in New York (which is apparently the biggest department store in the world, 9 floors total!) was all decked and trimmed out for the holidays. Of course these pictures are blurry because you pretty well couldn't stand still with the waves of people coming and going.

Rockefeller Center.

This was the entrance to the Apple store. The whole top is glass, and the apple is seemingly floating in the middle. A large elevator takes you below to the actual store.

Kasia on the carriage ride Tim and Michelle took us on around Central Park. Thanks again!

Grand Central Station.

Ground Zero.

 

Thanks again to my aunt, uncle, and cousin for having us out. We had a great time!

Animations of Living Cells

Just incredible:

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/11/15/science/1248069334032/the-animators-of-life.html

Another reason why I'm so fortunate...

My Brain!

I was fortunate enough to get my brain scanned at MIT the other day... so here it is! I hope to post some pictures of me in the fMRI scanner soon :D

 Multiple angles of my brain :)

Here is a video of my brain-scan (side profile). This is my favorite!!! At 5 seconds you can see my brain stem, cerebellum, and all the other beautiful details!

Here is a video of my brain from the top all the way down to my throat! Wild!!!

There are the images they gave me of my brain! So pretty! Below are more up-close images :)

The red dots show the activation in my  left hemisphere in the motor cortex (movement). I was tapping the fingers on my right hand, and that's where the activation is. (The left-hemisphere controls the right side of your body, and your right-hemisphere controls the left side of your body. It's incredibly how much energy your brain uses just to tap your fingers!!!

A side-profile of my left-hemisphere :)

A bird's-eye view of my brain. 

Now you all know what's going on in my head ;)

Sushi tonight!

Avacado, carrots, and crab meat. Rice is in the cooker!

It's been a while since we've had sushi, and we decided it was finally time. Luckily for us there is a Japanese market in the square, and we were able to get the basics (seaweed wraps and rice seasoning!) to have a sushi dinner. Everything went very smoothly, and we even have enough left for lunch tomorrow.

Ready to roll!

Dinner is served.

I think we're going to have to start taking more advantage of the authentic markets we have around us (Mexican, Japanese, etc.) and make some more delicious meals! We'll definitely post pictures and ingredients when we do!

Star Trek Superstars :)

Matt and I dressed up as Star Trek characters for Halloween :)

 Kasia already had a red dress that only needed a few changes before it was ready, however, for my shirt I had to do a little more. In order to get the right color I bought a white longsleeve shirt and dyed it yellow, and then added some tan for a darker shade that's closer to the real color.
For the badges we bought some black and gold fabric (1-yard each minimum!) and printed out the pattern from the internet.

Fun times!

We don't know what's going on in this picture.. I think only my left eye merits being in the picture ;)

Good Italian Seasoning for Chicken

Haha, I promise it's sooooo good!!!

Mix
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. mustard powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper

Rub it on to the chicken.

Then mix 2 tbs olive oil with 1 tbs. lemon juice and drizzle it on the chicken

Bake it up!

I use stoneware and bake it at 400 degrees for about 30-35 minutes.

I bake chicken in whole pieces for the first nights' dinner, but I also add chicken strips with the seasoning to use for a salad the next day. Healthy and tasty!

The Luckiest Girl in the World

I really am.

Not only am I at the most amazing school in the world (okay, that statement is somewhat biased ;), but I am learning so much. I can't believe that I only have about 7 more months left here. Graduation date is rapidly approaching on May 26, 2011. And then 2 months later (July 23, 2011), Matt and I will be married :)

This has just been such an incredible experience for the both of us.

But, here is what I enjoy so much about Harvard, and Boston in general:

• When I miss the bus (sometimes I think it's intentional and better for my sanity, haha ;) I walk to campus. It's about a 25-30 minute walk, and I get to see the old buildings. My favorite part is walking by Dali's cafe and seeing the purple walls with the purple flowers. In fact, I want to come back after our wedding to have a picture against this wall (in our wedding clothes) just because it's that cool. Yes, I think about these things, and that shouldn't surprise those of you who know me well.
  
  
  
• When I get to campus, I usually walk through Harvard Yard and they have all these chairs set out for people to just sit and talk to each other. They're intentionally put in a circle to foster dialogue. Anyhow, the other day there were pumpkins on the chairs that said, "Take me home!" And, of course, I did. What a wonderful, silly, small thing to do to brighten one's day.

• And, nothing beats people watching and seeing people touch John Harvard's foot (if you touch it you come back to Harvard) and thinking that I was doing that the past two times I visited Harvard as well. One of my life goals came true-- and I am experiencing the adventure in the making. Just incredible.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Harvard always has dishes of candy out everywhere! It's like they KNOW we need a little pick me up every now and them. I favor the coffee candies... yum!
  
  
  
• And, in between class, I have the flexibility to go work out. Super cool.
  
  These are the little things, and I am so grateful to be where I am right now.

Oh, and of course, my coursework has definitely challenged me and made me think about things like never before. I am just so blessed.

3 Critical Components for Learning

The attached two articles give specific examples of how students learn, and what may be happening when they do not learn. In essence, the following 3 components are crucial:

-Recognition networks (the "what" of learning)
-Strategic networks (the "how" of learning)
-affective goals (the "why" of learning)

Usually we focus on 2 of the 3, but all 3 are critical in creating a balanced curriculum. How do we do this when we have so many students? With the new technology, individualizing learning will be more possible. See "Learning to Read in the Digital Age" (Rose & Dalton, 2009).

Okay, frustrating-- can't upload PDFs here. The citations are below, or if you're interested, message me.

McPherson, S. (2009). A Dance with the butterflies: A metamorphosis of teaching and learning through technology. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37, 229-236.

Rose, D. and Dalton, B., (2009). Learning to read in the digital age. Mind, Brain, and Education, 3 (2), 74-83.

More personal posts soon-- lots of school things happening at the moment.

Miss you all!

Macaroni Madness

An unforgettable night with Lisa and Andy.....

Started with pool-- I was really excited that I hit the balls in!! 

We find a MASSIVE Noodle and Matt tries to help me climb it. Hey! We saw other people doing it, too!

My attempts somewhat failed... Lisa almost fell over with laughter. I couldn't breathe on the other side. Matt was very confused.

 

 Matt says, "Let me show you how it's done :)" What a handsome fiance!

 

Hoorah! We did it! And, we did LOVE IT!

The end. Except we have one picture of Lisa and Andy... but I don't think they want it posted :D

AWESOME NIGHT!