Denver, here I come!

I leave for Denver tomorrow! I'm very excited. I've been needing a vacation for some time, now. And it's going to be great to see all my great Denver friends again. I'm sure I'll have pictures and stories once I return on Friday! Hope all of you have a great Memorial weekend!

Welcome to Mona's Blog!!

(Note: To my regular blog-viewers - this is an introduction for the Center for Teaching and Learning Jump Start Program. I'm using my blog as a technology example.)

Hi there! I'm Mona and I've been using blogspot since June of 2005. I started it as a way to connect with my friends and family, all of whom are spread out all over the world. My sister is in Alaska, my brother on the East Coast, my mom in Ohio, my dad's side of the family in the Middle East and friends all over the world, including Norway, Albania, Jordan, Australia, Denver, Chicago, Ohio and, of course, Indianapolis. They all come to my blog to see how I'm doing and comment on my posts/pictures. We connect on a weekly basis and they don't seem so far away. It's fabulous!

More about me...I have a Master's degree in Education from the Instructional Systems Technology program at IU in Bloomington. I taught an undergraduate education course for two years and then worked at Butler University for almost 4 years as an Instructional Technology Specialist. That's a fancy title that means I helped faculty integrate technology into their curriculum. I'm now at IUPUI working as an Instructional Design Consultant. I've only been here for a few months, so I'm still learning quite a bit. My professional interests include education, language, culture, psychology, counseling and community service. My personal interests include biking, hiking, exploring, exercising/fitness, traveling, eating, and having adventures, whatever they might be. Oh, and I also have two adorable cats, Max and Anna.

Happy Mothers Day!

While I couldn't spend time with my mother today, I did call her and sent her flowers and chocolates. Tulips and Godiva chocolates to be exact. She was appreciative.

Terralyn had a family gathering at her place for the special day. Her parents and her sister's family all spent time together and ate lots of food. I brought dessert (chocolate cheesecake and cookies) and ate a-plenty. It was a good time. I hope you all had a chance to tell your mom you love her.

Little Duckling

I had an interesting walk this morning. I departed my house at 10am to take my long walk-route, which a portion of takes me along the canal path. As I was walking along the canal, I noticed a little duckling all by itself without a mommy or other ducklings in sight. That's very unusual since the mommy ducks are usually very protective of their babies. So, I sat and watched it for about 10 minutes to see what was up. No mommy appeared and worse than that, it seemed the duckling wasn't doing so well. It was awkward, weak and wobbled as it swam and walked. After another round of walking around a bit to see if I could find a mommy, I decided to take the duckling home with me and call the wildlife refuge place (a number I have saved in my phone). Walking 2 miles while carrying a baby duck in your hands is quite an interesting experience.

After getting the number for a duck lady in Indianapolis, I put the baby duck in a box and drove the 20 miles to Westfield area to give her the duck. Unfortunately, the poor little guy didn't make it. He died within 10 minutes of me being with the duck lady. I was very upset. Rest in peace little baby ducky.