A day in the life of an Ohioan turned New Yorker
alison watkins's Articles
October 11, 2008 by alison watkins
I think it's DISGUSTSING how John McCain supporters are calling Obama a "terrorist," and claiming how he's in kahoots with, "terrorists."  These last minute scare mongering techniques are outrageous.  Good luck controlling the mess you have created Mr. McCain. Personally, I don't really understand how anyone can "FcCain" vote for you. Quote of the week: "John McCain has sided with George W. Bush on 90% of the issues that concern Americans.  To me that makes him a sidekick...
October 3, 2008 by alison watkins
When I was in undergrad and decided to add on my music education major I used to dream of what my classroom would look like.  Of course it would be brimming with instruments, colorful posters bragging the joys of music in our lives, a piano (what music room wouldn't have a piano?!) and a desk where I could put all of my pictures of my husband and myself. A plaque hanging above my door would boast my "name comma music," so everybody knew where all of the creation would take place.  The ...
September 30, 2008 by alison watkins
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September 29, 2008 by alison watkins
As I have mentioned I teach elementary music for an at risk school district on Long Island.  My duties involve grades 1-2 and special ed classes in 3 different buildings.  14 periods out of 36 a week end up being a special learning environment.  I teach students from all different scopes.  This includes speech and hearing problems, multiple learning disabilities, emotionally disturbed children, and my personal fave- the autisim spectrum.  Mondays tend to be one hell o...
September 28, 2008 by alison watkins
I forgot that JU is very right wing dominant.  I have to be honest, I'm not feeling this election as much as I was the last.  Even though I am voting for Obama, I just felt that Hillary was the better choice for the job.  I am a strong supporter of the dems and even though I feel that the ideal candidate was not selected, my values still remain the same.  I believe in a woman's right to choose and health care for everyone.  I agree with raising these taxes to pay off ...
September 28, 2008 by alison watkins
When I was growing up, it always seemed as though my family was on the go.  Back in the day, my dad worked a normal 8-4 as a cartogropher and my mother was either on air as a Canton radio personality, or working as an editor for the Matrix hair care line.  My brother and I were always involved in school sports (football for him, we were both on the track team, and I ran cross country) as well as band functions, choir rehearsals and the speech and debate team. No matter how busy our ...
September 27, 2008 by alison watkins
Hi all...it's good to start blogging again.  I thought about switching to another blog server, but I just didn't think it would be the same.  I decided to come back to JU because I really enjoyed the blogging community here. It's so nice to see a lot of familiar faces are still posting! For those of you who are reading my blog for the first time, my name is Alison.  I am an Ohioan who has been transplanted to the big apple.  My husband and I live on Long Island, putting us...
September 25, 2008 by alison watkins
Kim Kardashian...love her, hate her, love to hate her? Personally, I think she's okay.  For me, her TV show happens to be what I call, "perfect zone out TV."(You now the kind, where you just want to relax and make your mind go numb?!)  In fact, I think it's great to see a girl with curves be represented in the media.  There's just one quick thing Kim....   TELL THE TRUTH!!   I was reading an article on thesuperficial.com where aparently Kim stated in a blog t...
August 23, 2007 by alison watkins
3.2 miles-33 minutes leg/ab circuit-30 minutes
August 21, 2007 by alison watkins
The numbers posted above are essential for building lean muscle mass. 25-grams of fiber a day 56-grams of protein/day 25 of fiber daily is the US health department daily recommendation for adults. 56 grams of protein is exactly 40% of my dietary needs according to my daily caloric intake for my weight. (To get this number all you do is multiply your weight by 40%. ) I've already had 24 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber...The fiber is going to be difficult...ugh! Oh w...
August 20, 2007 by alison watkins
Yesterday I tried a toning class at my gym and I absolutely fell in love! It's a total body workout by using strength training targeting all of your different areas. We used different freeweights and armbands for our arms and did many reps. We used the ball for our abs, butts, and thighs, and the step for our legs. Today, I am really feeling it! On top of that I biked 12 miles in 1/2 hour. I'm thouroughly going to enjoy my day off!
August 18, 2007 by alison watkins
Today I had to be cautious on the treadmill because I was starting to get a dull pain shooting up my ahkelie's (spelling!?!?) tendon. After about 10 minutes of stretching it out, it feels much better. I hear runners need to be extra cautious with their legs because one injury could mean the end of one's career. Anywho, here's what I did today: leg/ab circuit: 30 minutes Running-20 minutes-2 miles
August 17, 2007 by alison watkins
1 hour @gym -1/2 hour arm/back circuit -1/2 hour of running-3miles
August 15, 2007 by alison watkins
1 Hour 15 minutes weights/cardio Strength training on circuit for legs/abs-40 minutes Running -35 minutes -3.25 miles
August 13, 2007 by alison watkins
Today I had my first meeting with a personal trainer. He gave me some great advice and said I was already on the right track with things. I was a little nervous for my pre-workout evaluation, just because all of the clinical hype (aka getting weighed...ahh!!) reminds me of going to the doctor. He told me because of my frame (large) and height (5'2") not to measure my success in pounds, but body fat content instead. Today my body fat content was measured as 27%-the high side of average...